MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin's economy hit rock bottom in 2009, with unemployment reaching 26-year highs and the state budget facing its deepest hole ever.

There are signs that 2010 won't be as bad. Even so, dealing with the economy and trying to find ways to put more people back to work is expected to dominate the coming legislative session and much of Gov. Jim Doyle's last year in office.

Doyle will have a Democratic-controlled Legislature to help push through his agenda again this year. Those Democrats, in their second year of control, will be mindful that in November voters will cast judgment on how well they did.

University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said he expects economic issues to be at the top of the agenda.