Struggling Wisconsinites ask: Where are the jobs with good wages?

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http://host.madison.com/ct/business/biz_beat/article_836839d4-eecb-11e0-a13c-001cc4c002e0.html

From the Cap Times:
Jeff Waech is waiting with hundreds of others at a recent jobs fair designed to connect applicants with employers. The line snakes outside the building, around the corner and down the sidewalk at the Dane County Jobs Center on Madison's north side.

Those looking for work represent all sexes, races and ages. Some are dressed in suits or skirts; others in jeans or sweats. Included are a former sales manager at a large Madison publishing company and a past city mayoral assistant.

What they share is the need for a decent-sized paycheck.

Waech explains that he's been out of work for nearly two years. He was laid off from a $55,000 job at Widen Enterprises after 27 years with the Madison-based printing firm. His unemployment benefits are now exhausted and Waech is willing to take about any job he can find.

"One thing for sure, I'm never going to make that kind of money again," says Waech, 57, who admits he's in a better position than many with his mortgage paid off and no kids at home.

There were several dozen employers looking to hire at the September jobs fair — but few were offering what could be considered high-wage positions. Madison-based Barnes Inc. was seeking lawn maintenance personnel starting at $8.50 an hour. Parts Now, a Middleton laser printer repair firm, was looking for warehouse help at $10 an hour.

It's a similar tale across Wisconsin. Jobs can be found, just not many that pay very well. The state unemployment rate, despite a recent uptick to 7.9 percent, remains below the national average of 9.1 percent.

But the state's median household income, adjusted for inflation, fell 14.5 percent between 1999 and 2010, according to new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. That is significantly worse than the national decline of 8.9 percent over the same period.

Read more: http://host.madison.com/ct/business/biz_beat/article_836839d4-eecb-11e0-a13c-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1aNpmR7dt

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1. Repost this in General Discussion because not many will see it here. n/t