Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Altoona, PA MSA — October 2026
Altoona's labor market splits: factory floors tight, consumer pay soft.
Blair County unemployment sits near 3.6%-3.8%, well under the 4.1% national rate, but manufacturing pay jumped significantly to $41,600 while marketing and teacher pay fell, pointing to an uneven, sector-specific local expansion.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Altoona MSA unemployment rate: 3.6%-3.8% — vs 4.1% U.S., 3.6% PA (Jul-Sep 2026)
- Manufacturing production worker pay: $41,600 — Significant increase vs flat $39,520 national
- Altoona nonfarm employment: 62,100 jobs — July 2026, PA Dept. of Labor & Industry
- PA consecutive months below U.S. jobless rate: 29 months — Through September 2026
Key takeaways
Manufacturing wage strength outpaces the national trend.
Metro manufacturing production worker pay rose at a significant clip to $41,600, running ahead of the stable national median of $39,520. That divergence is consistent with the sector's broader momentum — Pennsylvania manufacturing WARN activity remains limited locally even as national manufacturing employment grows modestly, suggesting Altoona's industrial base is adding value beyond simply holding steady.
Healthcare pay gains track a statewide pattern.
Registered nurse pay rose moderately to $97,949 locally, mirroring education and health services posting the largest year-over-year job gain (32,600) of any Pennsylvania supersector. Civic leaders should read this as a structural, statewide shift in where labor market value is concentrating, reflected across the state rather than confined to one metro.
Consumer-facing wage softness may flag weaker household spending power.
Marketing specialist pay fell significantly and teacher and customer service pay both declined moderately in the metro even as national figures for those roles rose. If local wage softness in consumer-adjacent occupations persists, it could temper discretionary spending in the local business climate heading into 2027 budget cycles.
Low unemployment does not equal uniform labor availability.
Blair County's sub-4% unemployment rate sits comfortably below both state and national figures, but the wage divergence across sectors shows tightness is concentrated in manufacturing, healthcare, and skilled trades. Economic development conversations with prospective employers should account for this unevenness alongside the headline rate.
Median advertised pay by role — Altoona, PA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $22,832 | $28,722 | $32,760 | Moderate increase | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $22,880 | $26,814 | $28,080 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $32,312 | $37,440 | $39,520 | Moderate increase | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $59,218 | $83,200 | $91,904 | Moderate increase | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $30,397 | $33,590 | $39,602 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $35,360 | $37,659 | $41,773 | Moderate increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $59,280 | $67,540 | $70,566 | Stable | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $32,240 | $41,600 | $43,680 | Significant increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $29,120 | $33,763 | $37,440 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $26,540 | $32,335 | $37,500 | Moderate decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $34,127 | $43,160 | $50,960 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $34,320 | $37,866 | $43,787 | Stable | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician * | $59,564 | $72,500 | $78,000 | Moderate increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $83,800 | $97,949 | $108,537 | Moderate increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer * | $110,608 | $147,944 | $163,854 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer * | $99,167 | $131,099 | $148,780 | Stable | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $59,934 | $68,694 | $86,207 | Moderate increase | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $73,339 | $96,468 | $100,193 | Significant increase | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $56,211 | $64,404 | $69,389 | Moderate increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $51,620 | $56,339 | $58,802 | Significant decline | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,204 | $85,277 | $98,803 | Moderate increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $32,864 | $44,605 | $50,159 | Moderate decline | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $50,000 | $59,380 | $60,725 | Stable | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $52,917 | $72,500 | $80,000 | Moderate decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $79,860 | $96,252 | $107,353 | Stable | $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 | $44,200 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $67,294 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $34,052 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $60,320 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $57,823 | Significant decline | Significant decline |
| Financial Activities | $50,000 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $44,720 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $59,280 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $29,599 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,210 | Stable | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Altoona's metro unemployment rate held near 3.6%-3.8% through mid-summer 2026, tracking well below both the Pennsylvania (3.6%) and national (4.1%) rates, while total nonfarm employment reached 62,100 in July against a backdrop of record-high statewide labor force participation. Local wage gains in manufacturing production (significant increase, metro median $41,600) and registered nursing (moderate increase, $97,949) outpace several comparable national roles, suggesting sector-specific tightness even as consumer-facing pay in food service, customer service, and marketing has softened locally.
What it means
Pennsylvania's 29th consecutive month of below-national unemployment, paired with Altoona's own sub-4% rate, signals a metro economy operating near full employment — a condition that favors continued local business investment but leaves little slack in the available labor pool for expansion-minded employers. Divergence between strengthening sectors (manufacturing, healthcare, skilled trades) and softening ones (retail, marketing, education pay) points to an uneven recovery concentrated in specific sectors, a distinction that matters for site-selection and capital-allocation decisions. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion or relocation incentives should weigh sector-specific labor availability alongside the headline unemployment rate, since that rate can mask uneven slack across occupations.
Looking ahead
Expected: October 2026 BLS data for the Altoona MSA will not post until mid-November; expect confirmation of whether the 3.6%-3.8% range held or moved following statewide softening in September (PA lost 600 jobs that month).
Worth watching: Pennsylvania's statewide job count fell 600 in September after a 12,300 gain in August — a reversal that bears watching for whether it reaches smaller metros like Altoona in the next reporting cycle.
Emerging pressure point: CDL truck driver pay rose moderately to $83,200 locally against a flat national figure, a signal worth tracking given broader national WARN activity in transportation and logistics (21 notices, 2,489 workers statewide in recent periods).
Potential inflection point: Comcast Technology Center's 634-worker Pennsylvania layoff (effective December 31) is outside the Altoona metro but illustrates statewide white-collar softness; local commerce leaders should watch whether displaced talent migrates toward central PA labor markets.
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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