WUWM is turning to some of the agencies that help people in Milwaukee find jobs, to get a read on Milwaukee's job market and see how tariffs, cuts to the federal government and potential federal legislation could impact job seekers here.
Julie Cayo is the interim CEO of Employ Milwaukee, which is Milwaukee County’s workforce development board. It’s also the largest of 11 workforce development boards in Wisconsin.
“Right now in Milwaukee County, the official unemployment rate that was released in March of 2025 was 4.4%,” says Cayo. “And that is up a little bit from December of 2024, where it was 3.4%.”
But she says that doesn't tell the whole story in Milwaukee.
“We have zip codes within the city and even in some suburbs that have higher unemployment rates," Cayo explains. "So if you dig into the data through the U.S. Census, you will see that, for example, 53206 has an unemployment rate of 12%. And that's just people searching for work and is not counting individuals that perhaps are incarcerated or have stopped searching and are long-term unemployed.”
Employ Milwaukee partners with companies in fields like manufacturing, service, health care and other sectors to host job fairs. The agency also offers resources like job readiness training and an extensive summer youth employment program. But such resources can also be affected by changes in state and federal government.
This year, DOGE has dramatically shrunk parts of the federal government. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget bill that includes much of President Trump’s agenda. It’s working its way into the U.S. Senate.
Cayo says Employ Milwaukee is watching to see if its funding will be affected.
“We have formula funding under the Workforce, Innovation and Opportunity Act, we call it WIOA. So that is discretionary funding and that will be reviewed through the appropriations process this summer," Cayo says. "We are watching that closely because that's what funds our base programming that provides the training and the wraparound supportive services ... with adults and people who have been laid off from a job.”
Other social service programs may be reduced by the federal government, including Medicaid and SNAP. Cayo says if that happens, the families Employ Milwaukee works with will likely have more expenses.
And, if the budget bill passes Congress, there would be work requirements for Medicaid. Beginning at the end of 2026, childless adults without disabilities would be required to work 80 hours per month to qualify for benefits.
“That is a place where the Workforce Board/Employ Milwaukee can help,” says Cayo. “Because we do have relationships with a lot of those providers and with employers and we can help make that connection [for people looking for work].”
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