Jeff Neubauer, founder and CEO of Align Wisconsin, told the Racine Common Council on Nov. 4 that the city’s unemployment gap is a long-running structural problem that will not correct itself without targeted intervention.

Using city and county data, Neubauer said Racine has been above the state unemployment rate for roughly 35 years and highlighted a metric of 441 (previously cited in June) as an example of the scale of people who would need to gain employment to reach the state rate. He then drilled down to five central-city census tracts and said raising the prime-age employment rate there to the national average would require about 467 more residents in active employment.

Neubauer described Align Wisconsin as a workforce intermediary that connects employers, training providers, government and community organizations to align demand and supply. He said many local openings pay a living wage and that some occupations requiring no bachelor’s degree (truck drivers, building trades) show strong demand. He also noted the city is a major local employer — roughly 900 employees and an average job posting value of about $63,000 last year — and argued the municipal employer should use recruiting and training strategies to both meet its staffing needs and reduce the city’s unemployment gap.

Neubauer supported a budget proposal to fund a recruiter who would identify candidates, engage them, understand barriers to employment and coordinate with employers and training programs. In response to a question from Alder Jorgensen on why a recruiter is necessary, Neubauer said the labor market has not self-corrected here for decades and that proactive outreach and workforce-building are required to connect workers and employers.

He listed local partners and steering-committee participants including Ascension Healthcare, Twin Disc and Racine Unified. Neubauer closed by offering to follow up with councilmembers and staff for more data and next steps.