While Wisconsin lost 163,800 jobs since the start of the recession in 2007, the state will start to gain jobs in the second quarter of 2010, according to a report released late last week by the Department of Revenue.

According to the Wisconsin economic outlook report, 7.2 million jobs were lost nationwide from Dec. 2007 through Nov. 2009.

Wisconsin’s employment decreased 0.5 percent in 2008 and is projected to show a four percent decrease in 2009.

The state will begin to add jobs during the second quarter of 2010 but will still have an employment decline of 0.7 percent for that year. Employment will return to growth in 2011, according to the report.

Job loss in the state during 2009 occurred mainly in the manufacturing, trade, transportation and business services sectors. These markets made up 90 percent of the total annual job loss.

Andrew Reschovsky, professor of public affairs and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin, said the Department of Revenue came up with Wisconsin’s economic forecast by looking at the national macroeconomic predictions and applying it to the state’s particular situation.

Reschovsky added although he trusts the information in the report, predictions like this are never absolute.

“Forecasting is a mixture of an art and a science,” Reschovsky said. “This is an estimate and things could turn out better or worse. Forecasts are never perfect.”

The report also looked at Wisconsin’s housing sector and said the housing market is showing signs of slow recovery at both the national and state level. Wisconsin’s existing home sales grew in 2009, but foreclosure numbers are still increasing.

Reschovsky said the information released in the report is encouraging, but he cautioned people should not expect things to change right away.

“This doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods,” Reschovsky said. “For those people who are unemployed, it doesn’t mean tomorrow I’ll have a job. It’s going to come back but it’s going to come back slowly.”