Wisconsin’s per capital income rose 4.8% in 200, according to a report issued by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance for Competitive Wisconsin.
The increase is the largest in five years, is one of several positive benchmarks in the report, titled Measuring Success: Benchmarks for a Competitive Wisconsin.
The report says Wisconsin has closed the gap with Minnesota in terms of per capita personal income by 13%, or about $700 per person, from $5,294 in 2008 to $4,600 in 2011.
In addition, the report found that Wisconsin’s employment rose by 0.4% in 2011, the first annual increase since 2007. Manufacturing accounted for 16.1% of the total state employment.
The percentage of residents age 25 or older with a bachelor’s degree increased from 25.7% in 2008 and 2009, to 26.3% in 2010.
Other measures related to the state’s business climate were not as encouraging. In 2010, the most recent year such statistics are available, the number of new private businesses in Wisconsin declined for the fourth time in five years, falling 0.8%.
Venture capital investments declined from $43.97 per worker in 2010 to $26.11 in 2011.
