From the Journal Sentinel
Posted: February 8, 2010

In the wake of unexpectedly weak unemployment reports for metro Milwaukee and Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle's cabinet secretary for workforce development was added as a speaker at the annual meeting on Monday of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, a major business and civic group.

Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman, whose appearance was added at the last minute, "will highlight Gov. Doyle's agenda for job creation and economic growth," which Doyle outlined last month in his State of the State address, according to an announcement.

Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the four-county metro Milwaukee area posted the third-deepest percentage loss in jobs in 2009 among the nation's biggest metro areas. Separately, Wisconsin's unemployment rate surged to 8.7% in December from 8.2% in November, an unusually large single-month increase.

Gassman heads an agency of 1,600 employees "charged with strengthening Wisconsin's workforce," the announcement said. "Secretary Gassman will talk about Governor Doyle's agenda to help businesses create jobs, provide workers opportunities to get those jobs, and grow Wisconsin's economy, seizing opportunities in a clean energy economy, and maintaining Wisconsin's lead in advanced manufacturing."