Brian Dake

Retailers reported a 93% increase in the average number of shoplifting incidents per year in 2023 versus 2019 and a 90% increase in dollar loss due to shoplifting over the same time period, according to a new study released today by the National Retail Federation. Conducted in partnership with the Loss Prevention Research Council and sponsored by Sensormatic Solutions, “The Impact of Retail Theft & Violence 2024” examines how theft and violence have evolved since before COVID and how retailers are combating today’s retail crime landscape.

“Retailers continue to navigate a rising retail theft landscape that has evolved significantly over time,” NRF Vice President for Asset Protection and Retail Operations David Johnston said. “Protecting store associates and customers, coupled with reducing today’s levels of violence and retail crime, requires a whole-community approach and collaboration across all stakeholders.”

According to the study, retailers surveyed experienced an average of 177 shoplifting incidents per day in 2023. However, that number can reach over 1,000 depending on the retail sector.

Violence remains a major concern for the retail industry. About three-quarters (73%) of those surveyed say that shoplifters are exhibiting more violence and aggression than they were a year ago, and 91% say that shoplifters are exhibiting more violence and aggression compared with 2019. Still, retailers continue to take measures to keep those within their retail environments safe. Compared with their last fiscal year, 71% of retailers have increased their budgets to support employee training related to workplace violence.

“Retailers and solution providers must work together to build and drive technology that goes beyond thwarting theft in the moment to predicting it, so we can proactively lower the chance of violence by mitigating crime,” Sensormatic Solutions President Tony D’Onofrio said. “Neither party can accomplish this feat alone.”

Multi-person theft incidents are also on the rise, with 62% saying that two to three individuals working together to steal multiple items is more of a concern than it was a year ago. Those incidents that are conducted in a coordinated effort under organized retail crime (ORC) groups continue to permeate the industry. Seventy-six percent say shoplifting connected to ORC is more of a concern than it was one year ago. Furthermore, retailers with the capability to track such incidents specifically saw a 57% increase on average in ORC incidents from 2022 to 2023.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its third straight interest rate cut, lowering the benchmark rate by 25 basis points amid economic data showing that inflation remains above the central bank’s target rate.

With the 25-basis-point cut, the benchmark federal funds rate will sit at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. The Fed’s move follows a 25-basis-point cut in November and a larger-than-normal cut of 50 basis points at its September meeting, which was the first reduction in rates since March 2020 and brought them down from a range of 5.25% to 5.5% — the highest level since 2001.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the group within the Fed responsible for setting monetary policy, said in a statement that “labor market conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low” and while inflation has progressed toward the 2% objective, it “remains somewhat elevated.”

“The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance. The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate,” the FOMC added.

One member of the FOMC, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, dissented from the decision to cut rates and preferred to hold the benchmark rate at a range of 4.5% to 4.75%.

The FOMC also released a summary of economic projections, which reflected two rate cuts in 2025, two cuts in 2026 and one cut in 2027. It had previously projected four cuts in 2025 in its most recent projection from September.

Sales at U.S. retailers rose 0.7% last month, the government said Tuesday. Sales in October were also a bit strong than originally reported.

Governor Tony Evers celebrated “National Apprenticeship Week” by announcing that Wisconsin’s Registered Apprenticeship Program has reached a record 17,089 enrolled apprentices, an all-time record. This surpasses record-high participation in both 2022 and 2023 and marks the third consecutive year that the Registered Apprenticeship Program has reached an all-time record in the program’s 112-year history.

“As we celebrate reaching record-high numbers of registered apprentices in Wisconsin, it’s clear that our continued commitment to investing in our state’s workforce, especially during the ‘Year of the Worker,’ is paying off. We’ve worked hard to expand apprenticeship pathways, reduce barriers to work, and bolster our workforce as we continue our efforts to ensure Wisconsin’s workforce and our economy are ready to meet the demands of the 21st Century. This record-breaking year is a testament to these important efforts and we are going to keep working to ensure we maintain our momentum,” said Gov. Evers. 

Wisconsin Apprenticeship pairs structured, on-the-job training with classroom instruction, allowing apprentices to be paid to “earn as they learn.” Wisconsin has been a national leader in apprenticeship since 1911, when it became the first in the nation with a registered apprenticeship program, and is unique among the 50 states in requiring employers to pay their apprentices for both time worked and time spent in required classroom instruction. This recognizes the importance of a dual training system that combines skills obtained on the job site with technical knowledge in the classroom.

Wisconsin has more than 200 apprenticeship occupations with over 2,600 employers. While traditional construction trades apprenticeships continue to be strong, emerging employment sectors and occupations, including healthcare, are building the depth of offerings and growing apprenticeship opportunities.

In May, DWD also announced an all-time high of 9,932 youth apprentices enrolled during the 2023-24 school year, with a record 6,671 employers participating. Youth Apprenticeship, which started in 1991 also as the first program of its kind in the nation, is a strong connector to registered apprenticeship programs.

The United States Supreme Court on Friday said it would take up a new religious rights case over whether a Catholic charitable organization must pay Wisconsin’s employment tax.

The justices will review a divided state Supreme Court ruling that refused to grant an exemption to the Catholic Charities Bureau, based in Superior, Wisconsin. The state court ruled that the work of Catholic Charities and four related organizations is primarily not religious, although it found that the motivation to help older, disabled and low-income people stems from Catholic teachings.

The case will likely be heard in the spring and decided by the end of June.

Lawyers for the Wisconsin groups argued to the court that the decision violates religious freedoms protected by the First Amendment. They also said the court should step in to resolve conflicting rulings by several top state courts on the same issue.

Attorneys with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty say they’re confident the U.S. Supreme Court will reject the ruling.

“We’re hoping that the Supreme Court ultimately rules in favor of our client and recognizes that Catholic Charities Bureau is operating for religious purposes and forwards the Diocese of Superior’s religious mission to serve the poor and needy,” said Becket attorney Colten Stanberry.

Wisconsin Attorney General Joshua Kaul had urged the high court to stay out of the case, arguing that much of the groups’ funding comes from state and local governments, and the joint federal and state Medicaid program.

Employees don’t have to be Catholic and “people receiving services from these organizations receive no religious training or orientation,” Kaul wrote.

Catholic Charities has paid the unemployment tax since 1972, he wrote.

Bankers in Wisconsin view the state’s economy more favorably now than earlier this year, according to the latest executive survey from the Wisconsin Bankers Association.

The group’s latest Economic Conditions Survey of bank CEOs found 83% rate the state economy as good or excellent, up from 76% in the mid-year 2024 survey. At this point in 2023, 68% said Wisconsin’s economy was good or excellent.

In an even larger jump, 29% of respondents expect the state economy to grow over the next six months — well above the 8% expecting growth in the prior survey.

When asked about the prospects for business loans in the next six months, 41% said they expect demand for these loans to rise while just 3% expect it to weaken. In the prior survey, those figures were 8% and 26%, respectively.

Loan demand is projected to rise across a number of other categories, including commercial and residential real estate, and agriculture. All three had stronger expectations than in the past three surveys, reflecting a brighter outlook among bankers.

Still, this optimism about the state is tempered by shifting expectations around inflation. In the latest survey, 22% said they expect inflation to rise in the next six months, compared to 8% in the last survey. Still, no respondents said a recession is very likely in the next six months, a decline from 6% in the previous survey.

Respondents pointed to a number of “economic bright spots” in the survey, ranging from stable employment and consumer spending to the strength of key state industries including manufacturing, technology, tourism and residential construction.

Wisconsin residents will pay $327.2 million more in K-12 property taxes this year, a 5.7% increase that is the largest increase since 2009.

Last year’s increase was 5.4%, according to a new report from Wisconsin Policy Forum.

The increases come due to per pupil school tax levy increases and the 169 school referenda that have been approved across the state this year.

Those referenda will cost taxpayers a total of $4.4 billion, $3.3 billion of which will come from debt.

K-12 school levies are nearly half of what taxpayers pay in local property taxes each year, with local levies costing $6.1 billion.

Voters have passes at least one school referendum in two-thirds of public school districts in the state since 2021, the report says.

Of the 50 school districts with the largest property tax levies, just 15 have not passed at least one referendum since the start of 2021.

While school district levies are increasing, county levies will go up just 1.3%, the smallest increase of the past 10 years.

Levies will increase 3.3% to $516 million for the state’s 16 technical colleges, according to the report.

The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor indicated that retail sales still grew in November even though two days of the Thanksgiving holiday fell in December.

Total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were up 0.15% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 2.35% unadjusted year over year in November, according to the Retail Monitor. That compared with increases of 0.74% month over month and 4.13% year over year in October.

“November sales increased on top of a strong October and would have been even higher if Thanksgiving Sunday and Cyber Monday hadn’t fallen in December,” stated National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay. “Year-over-year gains were solid even as retail prices in many categories are lower this year, showing that consumers are buying more merchandise as the economy continues to grow,” he added. Notably, the NRF said it remains confident in its holiday forecast.

The online and other non-store sales category was strong in November, up 1.32% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 21.48% year over year unadjusted. Grocery and beverage stores were up 0.95% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 5.31% year over year unadjusted. Meanwhile, electronics and appliance stores were down 2.19% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 7.28% year over year unadjusted. The sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores category also disappointed, were down 1.2% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 7.39% year over year unadjusted.

Total sales were up 2.15% year over year for the first 11 months of 2024 and core sales were up 2.33%.

The Worker’s Compensation Advisory Council (WCAC) is seeking public comments on its next slate of recommended legislative changes.

The Council will host a hybrid public hearing Tuesday, Dec. 10, from 3 to 6 p.m. The hearing will be held in person at 201 East Washington Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin, and virtually via WebEx conferencing technology. Written comments will also be accepted through January 10, 2025.

The WCAC was established in 1968 to advise DWD and propose amendments to the state’s worker’s compensation laws each legislative session. The most recent council-supported agreed-upon bill that cleared both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature was signed into law by Governor Tony Evers on March 22, 2024.

Submit Written Comments: Written comments may be submitted to John Dipko, Chair, Worker’s Compensation Advisory Council, 201 East Washington Avenue, Room C100, Madison, WI 53703, or via email to: WCAdvisoryCouncil@dwd.wisconsin.gov. The submission deadline for written comments is Jan. 10, 2025.

Attend the Public Hearing

TIME: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
DATE: Dec. 10, 2024
LOCATION: 201 E. Washington Ave., Madison, Conference Room H103
ATTEND VIRTUALLY: Register via WebEx from the state Public Meeting Notices website. Attendees must register in advance.