Newsmakers: Dept. of Workforce Development Secretary Scott Baumbach
Scott Baumbach, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, carries around a scorecard: There are 30,000 unfilled jobs in Wisconsin. In a Newsmakers interview on July 14, Baumbach explained efforts to place some of the 130,000 unemployed residents of Wisconsin — about 7.4% of the workforce — into those open jobs. He also said there are no signs that Wisconsin will rebound as a hub of automotive manufacturing, but defense contracting — including Oshkosh Truck — is growing dramatically. Baumbach, who was named agency secretary in June, also said a panel of employers and union leaders will make recommendations on how Wisconsin should repay $1.3 billion owed to the federal government for unemployment benefits paid in recent years.
