Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Eau Claire, WI MSA — October 2026
Eau Claire holds a tight labor market as pay gains split by sector.
Eau Claire's 3.1% unemployment rate sits a full point below the 4.1% national figure, even as advertised pay diverges sharply — registered nurse and HVAC pay climbing while retail, administrative and teaching pay in the metro moved down this month.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.1% — vs 4.1% national, August 2026
- Wisconsin real wage growth: -5.1% — Steepest decline of 40 states, Sep 2025-Sep 2026
- Wisconsin labor force participation: 64.9% — 3.1 pts above 61.8% national rate
- Statewide manufacturing employment: -1.3% — Forecast Oct 2026 vs Oct 2025, statewide
Key takeaways
Eau Claire's unemployment edge over the nation is widening.
A 3.1% metro rate against a 4.1% national rate signals the local labor market is tighter than the typical US metro, consistent with Wisconsin's statewide participation rate running 3.1 points above the national average. For commerce leaders, this points to a workforce availability advantage that persists even as statewide nonfarm payrolls softened.
Clerical and retail pay is softening while skilled trades climb.
Administrative assistant, teacher, and retail sales associate advertised pay all moved down locally this month, while HVAC technician, registered nurse and accountant pay rose, several significantly. Divergence like this is consistent with a local economy reallocating wage pressure toward healthcare, skilled trades and finance.
Manufacturing postings continue even as the statewide trend weakens.
Lippert Automotive's October production and material-handler postings arrive against a statewide forecast showing Wisconsin manufacturing employment running 1.3% below year-ago levels by October. Local activity appears to be holding against a sector-wide statewide contraction, worth tracking as a bellwether for whether Eau Claire manufacturing decouples from the state pattern.
Public-sector postings point to continued institutional stability.
City of Eau Claire firefighter listings ($63,308–$83,786) and UW-Eau Claire facilities postings suggest steady public and higher-education employment activity even as statewide finance and white-collar sectors show little movement. Public-sector stability of this kind typically anchors local consumer spending during periods of private-sector wage compression.
Median advertised pay by role — Eau Claire, WI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $23,329 | $29,120 | $33,280 | Moderate decline | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $24,085 | $31,197 | $31,412 | Moderate increase | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $33,236 | $38,456 | $40,736 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $57,200 | $78,000 | $88,400 | Stable | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $30,144 | $38,100 | $42,640 | Moderate increase | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $36,714 | $41,600 | $42,608 | Stable | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $59,010 | $72,274 | $80,080 | Moderate decline | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $34,019 | $38,847 | $40,560 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $34,307 | $40,111 | $45,240 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $26,939 | $30,241 | $34,060 | Moderate decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $38,480 | $45,240 | $45,874 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $35,027 | $41,600 | $45,461 | Moderate decline | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician * | $60,320 | $69,500 | $76,681 | Moderate increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $81,342 | $98,802 | $105,967 | Moderate increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $109,160 | $129,510 | $161,869 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer * | $90,729 | $131,337 | $145,390 | Moderate increase | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $57,735 | $75,000 | $79,665 | Significant increase | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $61,714 | $74,360 | $83,505 | Significant decline | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $63,474 | $78,051 | $82,048 | Stable | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $41,600 | $49,613 | $51,679 | Significant increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,000 | $85,176 | $88,005 | Moderate increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $29,120 | $33,280 | $38,520 | Moderate decline | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $50,042 | $80,000 | $87,700 | Significant increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $66,387 | $80,000 | $85,223 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $66,454 | $90,000 | $103,763 | Significant increase | $98,302 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $55,000 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $69,189 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $35,335 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $59,280 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $84,049 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $65,519 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $55,744 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $45,760 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $32,240 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $64,929 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Eau Claire's unemployment rate held near 3.1% in August 2026, a full point below the national rate of 4.1% and consistent with Wisconsin's broader pattern of tight local labor availability amid soft statewide job growth. Local job ads, a signal of hiring demand (one ad often covers several openings), cluster in healthcare, manufacturing and public-sector postings — including UW-Eau Claire facilities roles, Lippert Automotive production positions, and City of Eau Claire firefighter openings — a pattern consistent with the state's documented strength in construction and services alongside continued softness in manufacturing employment statewide.
What it means
Low local unemployment paired with flat-to-declining advertised pay in several metro roles (retail associate, food service, administrative, teaching) suggests wage competitiveness relative to a Wisconsin inflation environment that has outpaced earnings statewide is the binding constraint on staffing, even as labor availability remains tight compared to national markets. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion or relocation decisions should weigh that healthcare and skilled-trade advertised pay (registered nurses up, HVAC up) are moving faster than clerical and retail categories, a divergence that shapes which sectors can staff growth locally. Consider reviewing which occupational categories in an expansion plan sit on the rising side of this divide before assuming uniform local labor cost trends.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Wisconsin's real wage growth posted the steepest year-over-year drop (-5.1%) of any state through September, and Eau Claire's own declines in retail, administrative and teaching pay are consistent with that statewide erosion. Watch whether metro wage softness in these categories deepens or stabilizes as fourth-quarter data arrives.
Potential inflection point: Statewide manufacturing employment is forecast to run 1.3% below year-ago levels by October, yet local job ads, which signal hiring demand and often cover several openings each, for production and material-handling roles (Lippert Automotive) continued through late October. Divergence between local postings activity and the statewide manufacturing trend is worth tracking over the next two months.
Early indicator: Wisconsin's Black unemployment rate (7.2%) remains nearly three times the white rate statewide, the widest such disparity in the nation. Local economic development data in coming months should be watched for whether this disparity shows up in county-level or metro-level breakdowns as they become available.
Expected: National healthcare hiring demand remains the strongest sector signal, and Eau Claire's advertised registered nurse pay rose this month alongside national RN pay gains of 'significant' magnitude. Expect continued healthcare-sector advertised pay growth locally as this national pattern persists into year-end.
Sources
- USAFacts / Bureau of Labor Statistics — Eau Claire metro unemployment rate at 3.1% in August 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — National unemployment rate held at 4.1% in October 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics state wage data — Wisconsin real wage growth fell 5.1% year-over-year, steepest among states
- Bureau of Labor Statistics / Wisconsin DWD — Wisconsin labor force participation rate at 64.9%
- Wisconsin economic forecasting analysis — Wisconsin manufacturing employment forecast 1.3% below year-ago levels by October
- High Road Strategy Center — Wisconsin Black unemployment rate of 7.2% vs 2.3% white rate, Q1 2026
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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