On the Horizon is a New Glarus 360 feature looking beyond today’s headlines at larger economic, demographic, technological and cultural changes that may eventually reach our community. The goal is not to predict the future, but to recognize consequential changes while they are still far enough away to prepare for them.

Something unusual may be taking shape in New Glarus over the next several years. New businesses and major investments are creating reasons for more people to work here at almost exactly the same time that one of the largest demographic changes in modern history is making workers increasingly difficult to find.

Around the world, birth rates are falling while people are living longer. The United Nations projects that by the mid-2030s there will be about 265 million people age 80 or older worldwide — more than the number of infants age 1 or younger. Global fertility has fallen to about 2.3 births per woman, roughly one child fewer than in 1990.

Wisconsin is already experiencing one consequence. From January 2021 through February 2025, the state averaged about 190,000 job openings each month but only about 97,000 unemployed people, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. Researchers describe the imbalance as a structural labor shortage rather than simply a temporary consequence of a strong economy.

New Glarus is entering that environment with substantial new demand for labor approaching. The renovated New Glarus Hotel & Restaurant is expected to reopen in November, bringing a hotel, restaurant and gathering place back downtown after years of closure. New Glarus Brewing Co., meanwhile, is completing a $55 million Hilltop brewery, distillery and hospitality expansion scheduled to welcome visitors in early summer 2027. The company has said the move-in period will include hiring new team members.