Wisconsin wages increase nearly seven percent - WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports

Eau Claire (WQOW) - Wisconsin wages are going up, which could be a positive sign for the economy.

The Department of Workforce Development says Wisconsin employees earned 6.7% percent more in pay in the first quarter of this year.  That's compared to the same period last year.  Those numbers come from nearly 160,000 Wisconsin businesses, that employ over 2.7 million workers.

The DWD says manufacturing and professional and business services showed the biggest employment gains and wage growth. The executive director of the Eau Claire Area Economic Development Corporation says that's especially true in our area.

"Economic Development corporation has met with around 45 companies over the last month or two, and we're actually seeing an uptick in orders, and starting to see an uptick in employment, so we're actually seeing companies starting to invest again, and not only in equipment, but we're also hopefully going to see some expansions over the near future," says Eau Claire Area Economic Development Executive Director Brian Doudna.

The DWD says wages went down in 2009 and 2010, but increased by a small percentage last year.