Wisconsin Has Record-Low Unemployment, But Stagnant Poverty Rate

Even though the state of Wisconsin has experienced record-setting low unemployment rates recently, there has been little-to-no impact on families living in poverty.  University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Timothy Smeeding is the co-author of a report which finds the state’s poverty rate has been stagnant at 10-to-11 percent for a decade, showing no improvement.  Smeeding says Wisconsin should raise its minimum wage and provide more help for those families.  He says having a job by itself won’t lift them out of poverty.