Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Alexandria, LA MSA — October 2026
Alexandria jobs dip while unemployment tightens further
Alexandria MSA employment fell to 62,000 in September — down 400 jobs — even as Rapides Parish unemployment tightened to 3.60%, a split pattern echoed in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Alexandria MSA nonfarm employment: 62,000 — Down 400 from August, 300 from a year ago
- Rapides Parish unemployment rate: 3.60% — Down from 4.10% prior month
- Louisiana statewide job growth: +300 jobs (Sept.) — Ranks 21st among states; 5-yr avg ~2,900/mo
- Average hourly earnings, private sector: $25.20 — Alexandria, Sept. 2026
Key takeaways
Job count fell even as unemployment stayed low.
Nonfarm employment dropped 400 in September while Rapides Parish unemployment held at 3.60%, down from 4.10% the prior month — a combination consistent with workers leaving or not entering the labor force even as business activity holds steady. That distinction matters for how economic development officials characterize the metro's capacity to absorb new employers.
Manufacturing pay strength bucks the metro's broader softness.
Manufacturing production worker pay rose significantly in Alexandria even as overall employment contracted, echoing the statewide pattern where construction and manufacturing drove most of Louisiana's annual job growth. Sustained wage momentum in a sector tied to the state's broader industrial growth may offer a reliable signal of the metro's trajectory alongside the headline employment count.
Wage data shows no single story about cost competitiveness.
HVAC technician and manufacturing assembler pay moved up significantly locally while warehouse manager and marketing specialist pay fell significantly — a spread wide enough that averaging across the basket would mask the real picture. Commerce leaders citing local wage trends in investment conversations should specify sector-level figures.
Metro cooling tracks the statewide pattern.
Alexandria's 400-job September decline sits alongside similar drops in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, suggesting a shared statewide dynamic. That context is useful for press and government audiences assessing whether the metro is underperforming peers or simply moving with a broader Louisiana trend.
Median advertised pay by role — Alexandria, LA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $19,628 | $24,900 | $28,241 | Moderate decline | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $20,771 | $23,335 | $25,384 | Moderate decline | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $28,334 | $33,435 | $36,950 | Moderate increase | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $60,200 | $80,000 | $91,884 | Significant decline | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $24,320 | $27,678 | $31,431 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $27,916 | $32,256 | $38,179 | Moderate increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $57,276 | $66,560 | $72,800 | Stable | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $27,956 | $35,360 | $36,407 | Significant increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $29,352 | $35,029 | $35,935 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $24,417 | $27,123 | $40,653 | Significant decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $28,080 | $31,458 | $37,959 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $28,515 | $36,673 | $39,520 | Moderate increase | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $54,664 | $66,926 | $67,659 | Significant increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $78,245 | $100,544 | $109,416 | Significant increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $77,704 | $121,833 | $141,139 | Moderate decline | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $99,780 | $133,187 | $137,559 | Significant increase | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $52,872 | $62,981 | $67,112 | Stable | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $61,690 | $75,766 | $85,400 | Stable | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $52,532 | $91,449 | $93,720 | Significant increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $48,821 | $76,727 | $88,142 | Significant decline | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $59,817 | $88,000 | $92,750 | Moderate decline | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $44,522 | $44,522 | $48,281 | Moderate decline | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $52,082 | $83,577 | $115,447 | Moderate increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $45,000 | $45,000 | $59,133 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $74,450 | $96,430 | $108,544 | Significant increase | $98,302 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $57,332 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $70,624 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $39,625 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $72,800 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $68,601 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $57,350 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $71,223 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $101,144 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $28,542 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $62,735 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Alexandria MSA nonfarm employment slipped to 62,000 in September, down 400 jobs from August and 300 from a year earlier, a pattern mirrored in Baton Rouge (-400) and New Orleans (-700), consistent with a statewide deceleration even as Louisiana's annual job count remains up 1.8%. Rapides Parish unemployment at 3.60% and private average hourly earnings of $25.20 point to a labor market that remains tight on availability even as overall employment count edges lower, a combination consistent with population and participation constraints limiting the local labor pool.
What it means
Flat-to-declining headcount alongside a sub-4% parish unemployment rate suggests the metro's constraint centers on a limited local labor pool, a dynamic economic development officials and chamber leaders should factor into any pitch tied to workforce availability for relocating or expanding employers. Wage movement across the metro's advertised-pay basket is mixed — manufacturing production work and HVAC technician pay both rose significantly while warehouse management and marketing pay fell significantly — a divergence that complicates any single narrative about the metro's cost competitiveness. Current conditions suggest commerce leaders evaluate workforce-availability messaging in parallel with wage data when discussing the metro's readiness for new investment. </br> Consider reviewing sector-level advertised pay alongside employment counts before characterizing the metro's economic trajectory in public remarks or site-selection materials.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: October MSA employment data, due in late November, will show whether September's 400-job decline continues or reverses. A second consecutive drop would strengthen the case that labor supply is the binding constraint on the metro's growth.
Early indicator: Statewide construction employment drove more than half of Louisiana's annual job gains; watch whether any of that momentum extends into Rapides and Grant parish building-trade activity given the metro's current tight unemployment rate.
Potential inflection point: National wage-vs-CPI divergence (1.5% earnings growth against 3.5% inflation) has not yet shown up distinctly in Alexandria's advertised-pay data, which is mixed. A clearer read should emerge as Q4 wage figures post, with implications for local consumer spending capacity.
Policy-relevant signal: Federal labor force participation shifts tied to immigration policy and retirements are a documented national driver of labor supply tightening; whether that dynamic is visible in Rapides Parish's low unemployment-rate-despite-job-loss pattern is a question local economists should track against upcoming participation data.
Sources
- Louisiana Works — Alexandria MSA nonfarm employment at 62,000, down 400 month-over-month
- Bureau of Labor Statistics / YCharts — Rapides Parish unemployment rate 3.60%, down from 4.10%
- Louisiana Works — Baton Rouge declined 400 jobs, New Orleans declined 700 jobs in September
- Louisiana Works — Louisiana added 36,000 jobs over the year, construction over half the gain
- Louisiana Works — Average hourly earnings $25.20 in Alexandria private employment, Sept. 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Median weekly earnings rose 1.5% vs. 3.5% CPI gain, Q3 2026
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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