Labor Market Pulse · Human Resources · September 2026
Human Resources Labor Market Report: Racine, WI MSA — September 2026
Sturtevant's labor churn creates a hiring window, not a shortage.
Racine-Mount Pleasant unemployment swung from 5.2% in February to 3.3% by May as UNFI and Cree Lighting layoffs fed the candidate pool, while Compensation Analyst pay rose to $86,093 and HRIS Analyst pay fell to $79,571 locally against a rising national median.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Racine-Mount Pleasant MSA unemployment: 5.2% — Feb 2026 peak, vs 3.3% Racine County in May
- Wisconsin statewide unemployment: 3.3% — Up from 2.6% in 2023, vs 4.1% national
- National hires rate: 3.2% — Lowest outside pandemic/2009-11 recession, July 2026
- Wisconsin WARN-affected workers: 3,914 — Across 56 notices in 2026, down 7% YoY
Key takeaways
Manufacturing layoffs are reshaping the local talent pool.
UNFI's Sturtevant closure and Cree Lighting's 172-worker reduction ran through August, pushing experienced logistics and production talent into a market where warehouse and assembly hiring remains active. Compensation teams should expect more qualified applicants for mid-skill roles than in recent cycles.
Compensation Analyst pay is pulling away from stable roles.
Metro advertised pay for Compensation Analysts is up significantly to $86,093, even as HR Business Partner and HR Coordinator pay held flat. Rising demand for analysts may reflect employers investing in pay equity and benchmarking capability ahead of state salary history legislation.
HRIS Analyst pay is falling locally while rising nationally.
Metro advertised pay for HRIS Analysts dropped moderately to $79,571 against a national median of $97,555 that is climbing. Widening gap may signal local employers under-investing in HR technology talent relative to national demand, a risk for systems modernization timelines.
Recruiter pay softening tracks with lower hiring urgency.
Local Recruiter pay fell moderately to $60,000 while national pay rose, consistent with the national hires rate dropping to 3.2% in July, the lowest outside recession periods. Lower urgency may create room to right-size talent acquisition headcount toward quality-focused, senior sourcing capability rather than volume recruiting.
Median advertised pay by role — Racine, WI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst * | $65,618 | $86,093 | $96,385 | Significant increase | $101,727 |
| HR Business Partner | $63,671 | $82,919 | $96,800 | Stable | $83,766 |
| Benefits Manager * | $84,847 | $123,253 | $133,868 | Significant increase | $117,888 |
| HRIS Analyst * | $76,737 | $79,571 | $85,000 | Moderate decline | $97,555 |
| HR Coordinator | $47,350 | $54,080 | $69,042 | Stable | $50,000 |
| Recruiter | $43,680 | $60,000 | $78,991 | Moderate decline | $68,167 |
| Payroll Specialist | $47,159 | $60,351 | $65,376 | Stable | $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
Racine-Mount Pleasant MSA unemployment climbed to 5.2% in February 2026 before easing to 3.3% in Racine County by May, a swing that reflects both seasonal volatility and the compounding effect of UNFI's Sturtevant warehouse closure and Cree Lighting's 172-person layoff working through the local labor pool. Active hiring in assembly manufacturing, outside sales, and warehouse operations suggests employers are backfilling churn rather than expanding headcount, consistent with the state's broader low-hire, low-fire posture.
What it means
Metro conditions point to a bifurcated labor market: displaced manufacturing and logistics workers are entering the candidate pool even as employers in adjacent sectors compete for the same warehouse and production talent, which should sharpen sourcing strategy rather than loosen it. With Wisconsin Senate Bill 540 pending to ban salary history inquiries and Black unemployment rising to 7.2% statewide, pay equity documentation and transparent pay bands are shifting from best practice to compliance necessity. Consider reviewing whether current job postings and interview practices already comply with a potential salary history ban before it becomes law.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: Wisconsin Senate Bill 540 would make Wisconsin the first state to ban salary history inquiries. Metro employers should watch its progress and begin auditing job postings and interview scripts now.
Worth watching: Racine County unemployment has swung from 5.2% to 3.3% within months, a volatility pattern that makes single-month readings unreliable. Track the multi-month trend rather than reacting to any one data point when setting hiring plans.
Emerging pressure point: Wisconsin's 60-day WARN notice requirement for mass layoffs affecting 25+ workers gives HR teams an early compliance window; with manufacturing historically accounting for a third of statewide WARN activity, metro employers in that sector should keep contingency staffing plans current.
Early indicator: Statewide Black unemployment reached 7.2% in Q1 2026, well above the overall rate, while job growth has stalled. Metro employers with diversity recruitment pipelines should monitor whether this gap widens locally and assess sourcing channel effectiveness.
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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