Labor Market Pulse · Human Resources · October 2026
Human Resources Labor Market Report: Racine, WI MSA — October 2026
Racine pays more, employs fewer — a retention economy emerges.
Racine County wages rose 3.8% year-over-year even as employment fell 1.5%, while local Recruiter pay ($55,339) trails the national median by nearly $12,000.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Racine County unemployment: 4.1% — vs. 3.2% statewide, up 0.4pts year-over-year
- Racine County wage growth: 3.8% — Q1 2026, highest among major WI counties
- Racine County employment change: -1.5% — Largest YoY decline among major WI counties, Q4 2025
- Recruiter advertised pay, metro vs. national: $55,339 vs $67,234 — Metro down significantly against national median
Key takeaways
Racine is paying more to employ fewer people.
Q1 2026 wage growth of 3.8% outpaced every major Wisconsin county even as Racine County posted the state's steepest employment decline (-1.5% year-over-year) in Q4 2025. Consider this a signal that compensation increases are concentrated on retained, harder-to-replace talent, a sign of selective retention spending rather than broad-based wage inflation.
Recruiter pay collapse looks like a capacity bet.
Metro Recruiter advertised pay sits at $55,339 against a $67,234 national median, a significant downward divergence even as unemployment rises locally. Organizations should evaluate whether this reflects reduced hiring need or a false signal that could leave recruiting understaffed when manufacturing retirements accelerate.
Benefits Manager demand is the clearest growth signal in the metro's total rewards stack.
Metro Benefits Manager advertised pay of $123,202 is up significantly and now exceeds the national median of $118,618, consistent with statewide findings that 70% of Wisconsin HR leaders see total rewards design as a significant 2026 challenge. Benchmark this role against the complexity of benefits redesign work underway.
Racine's unemployment gap versus the state is widening.
County unemployment at 4.1% sits nearly a full point above Wisconsin's 3.2% statewide rate, placing Racine among the state's eight highest-unemployment counties. Current conditions suggest local talent pipelines may be loosening for general roles even while skilled-trades and manufacturing positions remain tight.
Median advertised pay by role — Racine, WI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst * | $72,626 | $92,011 | $103,266 | Significant increase | $100,798 |
| HR Business Partner | $63,670 | $83,857 | $96,800 | Stable | $83,900 |
| Benefits Manager * | $84,694 | $123,202 | $133,868 | Significant increase | $118,618 |
| HRIS Analyst * | $76,737 | $79,403 | $83,843 | Moderate decline | $95,000 |
| HR Coordinator | $47,350 | $54,080 | $69,546 | Moderate decline | $50,460 |
| Recruiter | $43,680 | $55,339 | $73,468 | Significant decline | $67,234 |
| Payroll Specialist * | $49,754 | $62,500 | $66,696 | Moderate increase | $61,103 |
* 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 County's unemployment rate climbed to 4.1% in August 2026, now 0.4 points above year-ago levels and among the highest of Wisconsin's 72 counties, even as statewide unemployment holds near 3.2% and labor force participation stays well above the national rate. Manufacturing-dependent employment in the metro contracted -1.5% year-over-year at last count, yet Racine County wages rose 3.8% year-over-year in Q1 2026 — the strongest wage growth among major Wisconsin counties — a pattern consistent with employers paying up to retain scarce skilled-trades talent even as headcount shrinks.
What it means
Rising wages alongside falling headcount signals a market where employers are concentrating spend on fewer, harder-to-replace workers as headcount stays flat or shrinks — a dynamic that should reshape how HR leaders think about headcount planning versus retention investment. Advertised pay for Recruiter roles locally has dropped significantly (metro median $55,339 versus $67,234 nationally), suggesting local employers are scaling back recruiting capacity precisely when manufacturing and skilled-trades retention needs intensify. Consider evaluating whether recruiting function cuts are undermining the succession and knowledge-transfer work Wisconsin HR leaders increasingly say they need.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Racine County's unemployment trajectory versus Wisconsin's stable 3.2% statewide rate over the next two reporting cycles will clarify whether the metro's softening is manufacturing-specific or broadening into other sectors relevant to workforce planning.
Emerging pressure point: Wisconsin WARN filings remain modest statewide (56 notices, 3,914 workers in 2026), but Racine's status as the state's weakest major-county labor market makes it worth monitoring for any new notices that could add skilled manufacturing talent to the local candidate pool.
Early indicator: Recruiter advertised pay has fallen significantly in the metro; watch whether time-to-fill data for skilled-trades and manufacturing roles lengthens over the next quarter as a result of thinner internal recruiting capacity.
Potential inflection point: Wisconsin's statewide finding that 40% of HR leaders expect 5-10% retirement attrition over three years applies directly to Racine's manufacturing base; succession planning and knowledge-transfer investment decisions made in coming weeks will determine exposure.
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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