Business & Tech
Wisconsin's Largest Employer: Badger State Bucks National Trend
In many states, a retailing giant is the biggest employer. That's not the case in Wisconsin.
MILWAUKEE, WI – At one time, cars, oil and steel fueled the U.S. economy. But today, retail, hospitals and universities dominate the business landscape. Here in Wisconsin, we play in all of those sectors.
Most state economies are pretty diverse, with state governments tending to be the largest employers with more than 22 million workers across the country. But for some, just one or two employers play a significantly larger role in the health of the local economy and job force than any other.
In Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin in Madison is the single largest employer, according to a new report by the financial news and opinion site 24/7 Wall St. The university has 39,000 employees.
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But retail certainly has a significant place in the Badger State. Retailers Menard Inc. and Kohl's also are among the top employers in the state, according to the state employment site, CareerOneStop.com. Healthcare and technology also are big players – Epic Software and healthcare management company Theda Inc. also are in the top 10, according to CareerOneStop.com.
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For 42 percent of states, Walmart reigns supreme.
The retail titan is the largest employer in 21 states, including key battleground states such as Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Virginia. With more than 1.5 million American workers, Walmart is by far the country’s largest private employer and it dominates a large swath of the country, particularly the South and Midwest.
In nine states, universities employ the most people. Such is the case in California, where the University of California has nearly 200,000 employees.
In 15 states, the largest employer is actually a hospital system. This is true in Alaska where Providence Health & Services employs around 4,000 people and in Massachusetts where Partners Healthcare has 68,000 workers.
The online retail giant Amazon, the second largest employer in the U.S., has more than 560,000 workers in the country.
Patch reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this report.
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