Economic Development

Wisconsin added 900 private sector jobs in May, but the state’s unemployment rate rose to 6.8 percent from 6.7 percent in April, according to the latest report of seasonally adjusted data released today by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

Metropolitan Milwaukee is the top-ranked metro market in the nation for hiring prospects in the next three months, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today.

Racine-based Johnson Bank has hired and promoted several employees.

William D. Goodman, CPA, president of Schenck SC in Brookfield, has received a Distinguished Career Award from the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Modest gains were posted in metro area economic indicators for April as 12 of 23 monthly indicators tracked by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) improved from year-ago levels.

The board of directors of Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation Inc. authorized the company to expend up to an additional $1 billion to repurchase shares of the company's common stock.

Baird Capital Partners (BCP), the U.S.-based buyout fund of Baird Private Equity, announced that its portfolio company American Auto Auction Group LLC (AAAG) has acquired Badger State Auto Auctions Inc.

The U.S. stock market continued to recover ground today, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committee of Congress that the Fed stands ready to act to protect the financial system and the economy in the event that financial stresses from the European crisis escalate.

Modest gains were posted in metro area economic indicators for April as 12 of 23 monthly indicators tracked by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) improved from year-ago levels.

Racine-based Modine Manufacturing Company, a diversified global leader in thermal management technology and solutions, has signed a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire privately held Geofinity Manufacturing of Surrey, British Columbia.