Sources & References
Metro Job Market Pulse · Eau Claire, WI MSA · October 2026
Every advertised-pay, job-posting and industry figure in this briefing comes from WageScape's own database of active job postings. The sources below back the external facts cited in the written analysis.
Sources cited in this report
Key Indicators
National wage growth slipped to 3.0% annual, lowest since May 2021, against 3.4% inflation
Bureau of Labor Statistics — National Employment Situation and CPI data, September 2026
This Month's Takeaways
Wisconsin lost 8,100 jobs since November 2024 peak while national job growth continued
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development — State payroll employment series
Local Economic Conditions
Eau Claire MSA unemployment rate at 3.3% in June 2026, up from 2.6% in May
Bureau of Labor Statistics / Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development — Most recent official metro-level unemployment data release
Eau Claire civilian labor force grew from 94,500 to 96,400, Jan-June 2026
BLS Midwest Information Office — Metro labor force series
Looking Ahead
Black unemployment in Wisconsin reached 7.2% in Q1 2026 vs 2.3% white rate
State of Working Wisconsin report — Annual labor market equity analysis, September 2026
City of Eau Claire posted Telecommunicator roles at $29.70-$35.48/hour in September 2026
Job Center of Wisconsin — Local government job posting, September 25, 2026
How the numbers are calculated
- Advertised pay is the median of the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro. It is not survey or payroll data.
- Percent changes compare the latest six full months with the six months before that, for the same metro and sector.
- Sectors group postings by the employer's industry (NAICS) classification into ten sectors. Where a metro has too few postings in a sector, the state figure is used instead.
- Role pay trends use the same comparison windows. "Stable" means a change of less than 3%; "moderate" 3–10%; "significant" more than 10%.
Official data for comparison