Wisconsin ranked highly for labor force participation rates  

A report from the Community Economic Development program at UW–Madison has found Wisconsin has one of the highest labor force participation rates (LFPRs) in the nation. It often places in the U.S. top 10 annually, despite overall declining LFPRs for prime-working-age individuals, between 25 and 54, in recent decades. 

Wisconsin has 42 counties with LFPRs higher than the national rate, 15 counties with rate that are lower, and 15 without a statistically significant difference from the national average. In addition, 51 of the state’s counties have prime-working-age LFPRs for women above the national average.  

Nationwide, the upper Midwest, Great Plains, and some areas in the Northeast have many counties with prime-working-age LFPRs above the U.S. average, while lower rates are measured in counties across the Sunbelt and Appalachian regions.