Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), announced in a recent press release that Wisconsin ranked first in the nation for inflation-adjusted hourly earnings growth during February, March, and May 2024, and second in the nation during April, according to the preliminary data on private sector worker earnings released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For February, March, April, and May, year-over-year statewide earnings growth totaled 7.9%, 6.4%, 4.4%, and 6.2%, respectively, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics (CES) program and the Consumer Price Index. The CES survey covers hourly earnings by workers at private sector establishments.
Statewide, the average hourly earnings for May 2024 totaled $33.76. The Milwaukee–Waukesha–West Allis area led the state with average hourly earnings of $34.97, followed by Madison at $34.48 per hour and Eau Claire at $31.63 per hour.
The positive pay gains for workers come as Wisconsin employers are finding success in attracting and retaining talent. Last week, Gov. Evers and DWD announced Wisconsin achieved new record highs for employment and total nonfarm jobs during June 2024, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of people employed increased by 600 over the month to a record-high 3,048,600 employed, breaking the previous record set in May 2024.
In addition to the record-high employment, Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 65.5% in June, a full 3.0 percentage points better than the national rate.
For 2023, the most recent full year of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Wisconsin’s median wage totaled $47,590, slightly below the U.S. median of $48,060.
