Almost a third of Wisconsin counties are still struggling, several years after the recession ended.
A study by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance found they’re mostly in northern and central Wisconsin. The group’s president Todd Berry says they’re significantly behind the state averages in factors that are used to measure economic growth.
He says they noticed some similarities. Berry says places that are doing better have access to a nearby interstate, high-speed Internet, and are close to a four-year university campus.
The study shows 21 of the state’s 72 counties have actually had declines in their labor force since 2009.
On the other end of the spectrum, Calumet County was one of the top three in the state for economic growth over that time.
