Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Racine, WI MSA — September 2026
Racine unemployment spikes, then eases, after two plant actions
Racine-Mount Pleasant MSA unemployment hit 5.2% in February 2026 before falling to 3.30% by May, as UNFI's Sturtevant closure and Cree Lighting's layoff of roughly 172 workers moved through the local economy alongside a statewide job count still 8,100 below its late-2024 peak.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Racine MSA unemployment (Feb 2026): 5.2% — Up from 3.6% in Dec 2025, eased to 3.30% by May
- Wisconsin job count vs. peak: -8,100 jobs — Since Nov 2024 peak of 3,051,000
- Wisconsin unemployment rate: 2.7% — vs. 4.1-4.2% national rate
- Wisconsin wage growth vs. inflation: 3.7-4.2% vs 3.9% CPI — Thinning real gains after 2025 record highs
Key takeaways
Facility closures, not a broad downturn, are driving the numbers.
UNFI's Sturtevant warehouse wind-down and Cree Lighting's loss of roughly 172 workers account for a meaningful share of this year's disruption, concentrated in logistics and manufacturing rather than spread across the economy. The distinction matters for how commerce leaders read the headline unemployment spike — it appears tied to specific corporate decisions, not a metro-wide contraction.
Wage gains are concentrating in office and care-economy roles.
Administrative Assistant pay rose significantly locally while Certified Nursing Assistant pay held at a premium above the national median, consistent with statewide Education & Health Services growth of 1.9% even as Trade, Transportation and Manufacturing contract. Local business investment decisions may want to weigh this sector split rather than treat the metro as uniformly soft.
Electrician pay outpacing the national trend hints at construction demand.
Metro Electrician pay of $88,724 sits well above the national median and is rising, while Construction Laborer pay fell sharply — an uneven pattern that may suggest skilled-trade scarcity within a broader construction segment that is otherwise not expanding uniformly. Worth tracking alongside any public infrastructure or data-center project announcements in southeastern Wisconsin.
Real wage math remains unfavorable despite low unemployment.
Wisconsin wage growth is forecast at 3.7-4.2% for 2026 against core CPI inflation near 3.9%, leaving only a thin real gain for local households even as the state's jobless rate stays well below the national figure. Commerce leaders evaluating local consumer spending strength should treat the low unemployment rate as only a partial indicator of household purchasing power.
Median advertised pay by role — Racine, WI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $26,000 | $33,394 | $37,524 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $23,291 | $30,595 | $32,240 | Moderate increase | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,184 | $35,946 | $45,760 | Moderate increase | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $56,250 | $75,573 | $86,580 | Stable | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $31,488 | $39,149 | $43,680 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $33,550 | $41,702 | $43,680 | Significant decline | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $67,500 | $88,724 | $88,806 | Moderate increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $35,360 | $39,252 | $41,206 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $35,360 | $40,010 | $46,505 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $28,335 | $29,462 | $33,548 | Moderate decline | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $36,844 | $45,760 | $54,080 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $36,968 | $46,800 | $51,747 | Significant increase | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $63,975 | $70,404 | $80,344 | Significant decline | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $86,480 | $98,603 | $102,443 | Stable | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $50,276 | $113,310 | $124,667 | Significant increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $89,725 | $127,700 | $141,561 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $60,083 | $69,968 | $75,000 | Moderate increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $69,395 | $80,750 | $86,817 | Moderate decline | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $67,500 | $78,736 | $82,882 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | Significant decline | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,157 | $82,250 | $88,005 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $35,360 | $51,853 | $57,846 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $57,389 | $80,000 | $90,000 | Stable | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $41,352 | $75,110 | $84,529 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $83,776 | $88,791 | $106,740 | Moderate decline | $98,279 |
* 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 | $85,280 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $57,980 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $36,009 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $56,245 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $101,123 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $51,272 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $51,243 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $70,720 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,460 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $67,565 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Racine-Mount Pleasant MSA unemployment climbed to 5.2% in February 2026 before easing to 3.30% countywide by May, a volatile pattern layered atop two significant facility actions — UNFI's Sturtevant warehouse closure and Cree Lighting's reduction of roughly half its workforce — that together removed hundreds of positions from the local economy through summer 2026. Advertised pay across the metro's manufacturing and logistics basket has stayed largely flat (Manufacturing Production Worker and CDL Truck Driver both stable), while Wisconsin's broader job count has contracted by 8,100 since its late-2024 peak, suggesting Racine's softness tracks a statewide plateau rather than a purely local event.
What it means
Divergence between a still-low headline unemployment rate and concrete facility-level job losses signals a local economy in transition rather than outright contraction — useful context for commerce leaders weighing whether current conditions favor expansion or a wait-and-see posture. Public-sector and healthcare-adjacent wage movement (Administrative Assistant up significantly, CNA/Home Health Aide stable at a premium to national levels) point to areas of the local economy still absorbing labor, even as logistics and manufacturing consolidate. Current conditions suggest monitoring whether displaced UNFI and Cree Lighting workers reappear in expanding sectors locally, as that reabsorption rate will be a clearer signal of underlying economic health than the headline unemployment figure alone.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Whether workers displaced by the UNFI Sturtevant closure and Cree Lighting layoffs appear in other logistics or manufacturing openings locally, or leave the labor force or metro entirely — a key signal for whether the area's labor force participation holds near its historically strong levels.
Emerging pressure point: Wisconsin's statewide job count has contracted since late 2024 even as national payrolls grew; if that divergence widens through year-end, Racine's recovery from its February unemployment spike may prove shallower than May's improved county figure suggested.
Early indicator: Southeastern Wisconsin's six-county region is counting on advanced manufacturing, logistics, clean energy and data-center investment through 2032 — any new project announcements or delays in this window will be an early read on whether that long-range growth thesis is still intact.
Potential inflection point: National wage growth has slipped to its slowest pace since May 2021 (3.0%) against 3.4% inflation; if that gap persists into Wisconsin's own wage data, the modest real gains the state posted in 2025 could fully erode, with direct implications for local consumer-facing business revenue.
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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