Forward Janesville - TheReport - Fall 2017

8 • W W W . F O R W A R D J A N E S V I L L E . C O M SEAMLESSLY CONNECTING EDUCATION AND BUSINESS Janesville and Rock County have come a long way since the great recession of 2008- 09. Our economy is humming along. Rock County’s progress indicators, such as sales and use tax collections, home sale prices, commercial and industrial construction, and capital investment by businesses are all trending in the right direction. Area employers have added thousands of new jobs since 2010, and Rock County’s unemployment rate has declined to 4.2 percent. Unfortunately, there is one drawback to this economic growth: employers are having a difficult time filling open jobs. In fact, one in four Wisconsin businesses reported having trouble filling open positions in the last year. Forward Janesville is focused on the area’s workforce challenges and filling the talent pipeline to help businesses prosper. To that end, we are involved in multiple workforce initiatives. If your business is not yet aware of and/or participating in the following, I urge you to learn more and get involved. Working together, Rock County is creating a unique education-industry partnership that we hope will dramatically improve our future, one student at a time. Working together, Rock County is creating a unique education-industry partnership that we hope will dramatically improve our future, one student at a time. Dan Cunningham - Vice President Government Relations & Education