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Wisconsin Economic Scorecard October 2012
The most recent Wisconsin Economic Scorecard, a survey conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Urban Initiatives and Research, finds a majority of residents (60.1%) feel Wisconsin is headed in the right direction, an increase over 51.1% in the previous survey conducted July 2012.
For the third time, residents cite "unemployment/jobs" as the most important economic issue facing the state, with 50.6% of responses falling into that category. A distant second and third was "government spending" at 6.3% and "health care" at 5.0%.
The survey also found:
- Wisconsin residents would prefer state revenues to be spent on additional funding for education over receiving tax cuts by a 2‐to‐1 margin (56.9% to 27.3%).
- More residents would support a bill enabling establishment of mineral mining operations in the state (49.4%) than would oppose such a bill (41.3%).
- Wisconsin residents remain pessimistic about the current state economy, with a majority (53.4%) saying it is “fair”, and 21.6% saying it is “poor.”
- Just 24.1% say the state economy is “good”, and less than 1% say the state economy is “excellent.” These figures have not changed significantly over the last quarter.
- Wisconsin residents are more optimistic about the future performance of the state economy than they were last quarter.
- In July, respondents were most likely to say the state economy would “stay about the same” over the next six months. Now, a majority (52.1%) say Wisconsin’s economy will likely “get better”.
- Residents are most likely to rate their personal finances as “fair”
(41.5%). A majority of residents (60.3%) report having experienced a problem with at least one of the following major personal financial issues over the last six months: affording rent or mortgage; keeping a job; getting a loan or credit; saving or paying for retirement; paying for utilities.
For more findings and methodology, view the report here.
The Wisconsin Economic Scorecard is a quarterly poll of Wisconsin residents conducted by the UWM Center for Urban Initiatives and Research in cooperation with Milwaukee public radio station WUWM and WisBusiness.com.