Labor Market Pulse · Human Resources · September 2026
Human Resources Labor Market Report: Green Bay, WI MSA — September 2026
Green Bay's HR pay is falling as the job gets harder.
Compensation Analyst advertised pay in Green Bay fell to a $66,288 median against a stable $101,727 national figure, even as Benefits Manager pay climbed to $123,253 amid persistent healthcare-driven demand.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Green Bay MSA unemployment: 2.90% — vs 4.56% long-term metro average, May 2026
- Wisconsin statewide unemployment: 3.3% — up from 2.6% in 2023
- Wisconsin 2026 wage growth forecast: 3.7% — down from 4.2% growth in 2025
- Wisconsin WARN notices, 2026: 56 notices / 3,914 workers — down 7% year over year
Key takeaways
Metro HR salaries are falling while the role gets harder.
Compensation Analyst advertised pay is down significantly locally to a $66,288 median against a stable $101,727 national figure — a widening gap that suggests Green Bay employers are undervaluing a function facing more compliance complexity, not less. Retention risk for in-house comp talent may be building quietly.
Benefits Manager pay is the one function moving up sharply.
Local advertised pay for Benefits Manager rose significantly to $123,253, outpacing even the national median of $117,888. That tracks healthcare's continued dominance in Green Bay employment and likely reflects employers paying up for plan-design expertise as benefit cost inflation persists.
Low layoff activity is masking a quieter talent squeeze.
Wisconsin WARN filings are down 7% year over year and metro unemployment sits near historic lows, but statewide Black unemployment reached 7.2% in Q1 2026 — a sign that labor market tightness is not evenly distributed. Equity-focused sourcing pipelines deserve a second look even as headline numbers look stable.
Recruiter and Payroll pay drops locally as national rates climb.
Recruiter advertised pay fell moderately to $54,080 locally versus a national median up moderately to $68,167; Payroll Specialist shows the same pattern. Metro employers hiring for these functions against a national benchmark may be underpricing roles relative to where the broader market is heading.
Median advertised pay by role — Green Bay, WI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst | $64,195 | $66,288 | $69,350 | Significant decline | $101,727 |
| HR Business Partner | $56,735 | $70,000 | $77,500 | Moderate decline | $83,766 |
| Benefits Manager * | $84,847 | $123,253 | $133,868 | Significant increase | $117,888 |
| HRIS Analyst | $75,144 | $77,180 | $78,304 | Moderate increase | $97,555 |
| HR Coordinator | $39,520 | $42,786 | $48,863 | Significant decline | $50,000 |
| Recruiter | $43,873 | $54,080 | $57,550 | Moderate decline | $68,167 |
| Payroll Specialist | $42,177 | $55,120 | $63,700 | Significant decline | $59,855 |
* 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
Local market conditions
Green Bay MSA unemployment held at 2.90% in May 2026, well below the metro's long-term average of 4.56%, even as Wisconsin's statewide rate drifted up to 3.3% amid stalling job growth and inflation eroding real wages. Manufacturing and healthcare continue anchoring local labor demand — manufacturing alone supports 29,386 private-sector jobs at $1,360 average weekly wage — but statewide softness in trade, transportation, and manufacturing employment signals the metro's tightness may not be immune to broader cooling.
What it means
Advertised pay for several HR-function roles in the metro — Compensation Analyst, HR Coordinator, Recruiter, Payroll Specialist — is down moderately to significantly even as national postings for the same roles rise, suggesting local employers are pulling back on compensation function investment while national competitors accelerate, a divergence that could complicate talent retention for metro HR teams themselves. Pending state legislation (SB 540) banning salary history inquiries, combined with Wisconsin's strict non-compete enforceability test, means compensation structures built on legacy practices carry rising compliance exposure. Consider reviewing pay bands and recruiting intake questions now, ahead of potential statutory change rather than after.
Looking ahead
Pending legislation: Senate Bill 540 would make Wisconsin the first state to ban salary history inquiries. Compensation teams should prepare transparent pay bands and update recruiting intake scripts before any effective date lands.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide Black unemployment climbing to 7.2% against a near-record-low metro headline rate suggests uneven labor market access. Watch whether local equity-focused recruiting pipelines show measurable movement over the next two quarters.
Worth watching: National information-sector layoffs (Amazon, Meta, Verizon, Oracle among WARN filers) could eventually push displaced tech and corporate talent into regional candidate pools. Green Bay's HRIS Analyst pay is already up moderately — worth tracking whether supply catches up to that demand.
Expected: Wisconsin's low-hire, low-fire posture combined with inflation outpacing the 3.7% projected statewide wage growth for 2026 may further compress real pay. Budget conversations for 2027 merit framing around real, not nominal, wage competitiveness.
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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