For the Gazette

PORTAGE COUNTY/EAU CLAIRE – The 2019 Western & Central Wisconsin Wage Survey shows a rise in average 2019 pay increases. Participating employers demonstrated a 3.83 percent increase for non-exempt employees and a 3.52 increase for exempt employees, excluding zero increases and non-responses). This is a significant increase from 2018 which was 3.15 percent and 3.09 percent, respectively.

The Portage County Business Council was part of a region-wide effort to learn more about wages in the community, which showed a 2.3 percent increase overall, for the 30 trend jobs tracked each year.

The average increase is an “indicator of positive wage growth and robust market conditions,” notes Deborah Marshall, senior manager, HR consulting, at Wipfli in Eau Claire, who serves as the lead technical advisor for the survey. “Although there are always variations in numbers reported due to different employers participating (or not participating) and individual job fluctuations, the overall reported increases to base pay is still a fairly reliable statistic.”

In its 20th year now, the survey results were compiled from submissions by 162 companies – up from 151 in 2018 – in various industries. There was also a significant increase in the actual number of employee pay rates included at 23,255 – a 28 percent increase from 2018.

Geographically, the coverage area encompasses the chambers of commerce in Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, La Crosse, Marshfield, Menomonie, Portage County, Rice Lake, Wausau, and Wisconsin Rapids. Also involved were local chapters of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in the Chippewa Valley, La Crosse, Wausau, and Winona, MN.

Base pay levels for 153 jobs were included in the survey. Manufacturers represented 49 percent of the employers and 29 percent of the rates of pay in the survey. The survey also has industry breakouts for healthcare, financial institutions, non-profits, and a general category for all other types of organizations.

To obtain a copy of the survey, visit https://www.eauclairechamber.org/western–central-wisconsin-wage-survey.html  or contact Danielle Kummer at [email protected] or 715-858-0618.