Labor Market Pulse · Restaurant Industry · October 2026
Restaurant Industry Labor Market Report: Green Bay, WI MSA — October 2026
Green Bay back-of-house pay pulls ahead as entry-level wages soften.
Metro Line Cook pay climbed to $35,990 even as Crew and Shift Manager advertised pay declined, against a Brown County unemployment rate that rose to 3.4% in August from 2.7% in December.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Brown County unemployment: 3.4% — Up from 2.7% in Dec. 2025; vs. 4.2% national rate
- Wisconsin tipped minimum wage: $2.33/hr — Unchanged since 2009; Minnesota base is $11.41
- Metro Line Cook advertised pay: $35,990 — Up, moderate magnitude; national median $37,421
- Wisconsin labor force participation: 64.9% — vs. 61.8% national rate
Key takeaways
Back-of-house pay is pulling away from front-of-house.
Line Cook advertised pay rose to $35,990 (up, moderate) while Crew and Shift Manager both moved down, a split consistent with BLS projections of 12% cook employment growth against roughly flat server growth nationally. Compensation strategy built around uniform annual increases may now misallocate budget relative to where fill difficulty actually sits.
Wisconsin's tipped wage freeze is a structural risk.
The $2.33 tipped wage and $7.25 minimum have not moved since 2009, even as Minnesota and Illinois operate at more than double that floor. Green Bay operators near state or county lines may see front-of-house attrition tied to take-home pay comparisons that no local wage action can fully offset.
80/20 rule repeal creates near-term tipped-wage flexibility.
DOL's October withdrawal of the 80/20 threshold lets operators pay tipped rates for more side work without triggering full minimum wage, a direct reduction in base labor cost exposure for front-of-house scheduling. Expect this to show up in labor-cost-as-revenue-share metrics before it shows up in advertised pay data.
Local unemployment drift masks a still-tight frontline market.
Brown County unemployment rose from 2.7% to 3.4% between December and August, but Wisconsin's 64.9% labor force participation remains well above the 61.8% national rate, meaning available workers are not necessarily flowing into restaurant-eligible roles. Seasonal holiday staffing plans should assume continued difficulty filling entry-level positions despite the headline uptick.
Median advertised pay by role — Green Bay, WI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assistant Restaurant Manager | $31,669 | $37,440 | $42,085 | Stable | $39,211 |
| Catering Manager * | $38,116 | $50,416 | $55,285 | Stable | $50,076 |
| Crew | $23,920 | $27,203 | $30,160 | Moderate decline | $30,066 |
| Line Cook | $30,603 | $35,990 | $37,440 | Moderate increase | $37,421 |
| Restaurant Manager/General Manager | $50,000 | $57,046 | $61,500 | Stable | $59,724 |
| Server | $26,460 | $32,948 | $35,651 | Stable | $35,024 |
| Shift Manager | $28,342 | $31,796 | $33,957 | Moderate decline | $33,024 |
* 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
Brown County's unemployment rate ticked up to 3.4% in August 2026 from 2.7% in December 2025, and Wisconsin's near-full-employment labor market, 3.2% statewide against a 4.2% national rate, continues to leave few workers available for frontline hiring. Leisure & Hospitality employment has grown roughly 3% statewide even as overall Wisconsin nonfarm payrolls contracted by 13,700 jobs in September, suggesting restaurant hiring is pulling against a shrinking pool of available candidates in a labor market that otherwise remains resilient.
What it means
Wisconsin's frozen $7.25 minimum wage and $2.33 tipped wage, unchanged since 2009, mean Green Bay operators compete against Minnesota ($11.41) and Illinois ($15.00) base rates mainly on tips and total take-home pay, since posted wage floors have not moved — a gap that widens front-of-house recruiting risk near state lines even without local wage movement. Metro Line Cook pay rising to $35,990 while Crew and Shift Manager advertised pay moved down signals operators are concentrating retention dollars in harder-to-fill back-of-house roles, consistent with the national 75% cook-growth-versus-2%-server-growth projection cited by BLS. Consider reviewing whether entry-level crew and shift manager pay reductions are tracking softening demand or simply lagging a tightening back-of-house labor pool that could reverse quickly heading into holiday seasonal staffing.
Looking ahead
Policy shift to monitor: 80/20 rule repeal takes effect broadly in October; watch whether Wisconsin operators adjust tipped-role scheduling and side-work assignments to capture the lower effective wage cost over the next 30-60 days.
Seasonal pressure point: Holiday-season staffing ramps against a labor force where Brown County unemployment has drifted up to 3.4% but participation remains high, meaning competition for available seasonal workers should stay intense through December.
Early indicator: Statewide Leisure & Hospitality employment growth of roughly 3% against a 13,700 statewide payroll decline elsewhere may signal restaurant hiring is absorbing displaced workers — watch whether this shows up in faster fill rates for Green Bay back-of-house roles.
Worth watching: Crew and Shift Manager advertised pay softening locally while national figures hold stable is a divergence worth tracking; a continued gap could either reflect easing entry-level demand or a lag that reverses once seasonal hiring peaks.
Sources
- Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development — Brown County unemployment rate rose to 3.4% in August 2026 from 2.7% in December 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Wisconsin nonfarm payrolls fell 13,700 in September 2026
- Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development — Wisconsin minimum wage frozen at $7.25, tipped wage at $2.33, since 2009
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — BLS projects cooks to grow 12% 2025-2035 versus 2% for waiters
- U.S. Department of Labor — DOL withdrew the 80/20 tipped wage rule in October 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Wisconsin labor force participation at 64.9% vs. 61.8% national
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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