Smart money

Last month the New Jersey-based consulting company Cognizant released a new study in partnership with the Manufacturing Institute, which is the workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers, looking at manufacturers’ approaches to investment decisions. Key findings were as follows:

When asked how they would spend a marginal $1 million, manufacturers identified the following investment priorities:

Diversifying workforce strategies

The Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing & Productivity’s annual Wisconsin Manufacturing Report, which was released this fall, found that smaller companies are more likely to emphasize salary and wage increases in the quest for talent attraction and retention. By contrast, larger companies were more likely to consider a wider variety of approaches. Raising wages was the only strategy implemented by more than 50% of small (1-49 employees) company survey respondents, compared to five strategies favored by the majority of large (50+ employees) companies:

67%

The percentage of women over the last 12 months who gave birth and remained part of the workforce — the highest number in more than a decade, according to U.S. Census data. Experts say hybrid and remote work may be driving the number.

$64,130

The minimum household income required for a family of four in Wisconsin to be considered middle class, according to new data from the Pew Research Center, which created an “inflation calculator” tool. That’s the same amount needed to qualify as middle class in Michigan, New Mexico and North Carolina. Alabama and Arkansas ($51,798) and Hawaii ($82,630) represented the low and high thresholds.

9,522

The number of American craft breweries in 2022, an all-time high despite the fact that the industry’s growth has flattened, according to industry trade group the Brewers Association

50%

Share of job postings on Indeed.com that, as of August 2023, contained salary or at least salary range information — an all-time high as the movement for pay transparency increases nationwide