The average hourly wage for leisure and hospitality workers in Wisconsin reached $20.04 per hour in October, an 8.9% increase from the same time in 2022, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The year-over-year increase was the fifth fastest growth rate in the country for October. During the past three months, the sector has averaged an 8% year-over-year increase, good enough for 10
th in the country.
Year-to-date, the sector has averaged an 8.1% increase in hourly wages, which ranks 14
th.
The wage gains are less robust, however, when measured on a weekly basis.
Leisure and hospitality workers in Wisconsin averaged 21 hours per week in October, down from 21.5 hours a year ago. As a result, the average weekly wage was up 6.3%, a pace that ranks 16
th nationally.
Over the past three months, Wisconsin’s leisure and hospitality sector has averaged a 5.9% weekly wage increase, good enough for 18
th in the country.
Year-to-date, the sector has averaged a 5.7% increase, ranking 27
th in the country.
Across the entire private sector, Wisconsin saw average hourly wage growth of 5.5% in October, giving the state five-straight months of growth exceeding 5% after a slower start to the year.
Goods producing sectors led the way with 7% year-over-year growth, including 6.6% in manufacturing and 4.8% in construction. Weekly wages were more tempered with a 4.9% increase for all goods producing sectors, including 5.9% in manufacturing and 1.1% in construction.
In service providing sectors, the average hourly wage was up 4.9% while the average weekly wage was up 3.9%.
In addition to leisure and hospitality, education and health care saw strong gains with 10.6% increase in average hourly wages and a 6.4% increase for weekly wages in October.
Professional and business services, on the other hand, saw a 2% drop in average hourly wage, the second straight month of decline. The average weekly wage for the sector was up 0.8% from the same time last year.
