Metro Milwaukee’s workforce is getting stronger and is competitive with peer areas, but the region is under-performing in the areas of idea development, capital formation and entrepreneurship, according to a new Public Policy Forum report.
Milwaukee’s skyline.
The report found the region is losing more businesses than it is creating and while university research and development spending and patent activity have trended up, Milwaukee has ranked behind its peers in many categories.
Joe Peterangelo, Public Policy Forum senior researcher and the report’s lead author, acknowledged Foxconn Technology Group’s plans for a 20-million-square-foot LCD production campus could dramatically alter the region’s economy, but also offered a word of caution.
“Our findings suggest that any increased startup activity and prolonged business dynamism that may result from the Foxconn development will not simply happen on its own, but will require diligent and strategic efforts to shore up some of the weaknesses identified in this report,” Peterangelo said. Read the full story here.
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