Nominal and real exports are down.

Figure 1: Wisconsin goods exports, mn $/mo (blue), in mn 2000$/mo (red), seasonally adjusted by author using X-13. Wisconsin exports deflated by US export price index. Light orange shading denotes Trump 2.0 administration. Source: Census, BLS, and author’s calculations. 

Manufacturing employment continues to decline, contra Mr. Trump’s promise that tariffs would rescue manufacturing employment.

Figure 2: Wisconsin manufacturing employment, 000’s (blue). Light orange shading denotes Trump 2.0 administration. Source: BLS, DWD.

Total private employment has essentially flatlined since September 2024.