Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC MSA — September 2026
Augusta's labor market lags Georgia's record-setting state momentum.
Augusta-Richmond County's 4.0% unemployment rate trails Georgia's record-low 3.2% statewide reading even as Richmond County wages rose 4.7% to $1,226 weekly, pointing to uneven, sector-concentrated momentum rather than broad metro strength.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 4.0% — vs 3.2% Georgia, 4.2% U.S. (Sept)
- Richmond County wage growth: +4.7% — Q1 2026, to $1,226/week, above 3.3% state avg
- Metro nonfarm employment: 253,000 — Preliminary, July 2026, largely flat YoY
- National wage-inflation gap: 3.0% vs 3.4% — Wage growth below inflation, lowest since 2021
Key takeaways
Augusta's unemployment gap versus Georgia is widening, not closing.
Metro unemployment sat at 4.0% in July against a statewide 3.2%, with Richmond County itself running hotter at 4.8%. Commerce leaders should treat state-level headlines of record labor force and employment as describing Atlanta-driven momentum more than Augusta-specific conditions.
Wage gains are concentrated, not broad, across the local economy.
Richmond County average weekly wages rose 4.7% in Q1 to $1,226, outpacing the statewide 3.3% average, yet metro job postings data show wage stability or decline across a majority of tracked occupations including manufacturing, delivery, and HVAC work. That divergence is consistent with wage growth concentrated in a narrow set of higher-skill roles rather than an economy-wide tightening of labor supply.
Federal and professional-services softness is a statewide pattern worth local tracking.
Georgia shed 9,400 federal government jobs and 11,600 professional/technical positions year over year, a trend with direct relevance to Augusta given Fort Eisenhower and the region's defense-adjacent cyber and technical employer base. Local economic development officials should watch whether this statewide contraction shows up in metro-level WARN filings or payroll data over coming releases.
Health care remains the one dependable growth engine in the region's mix.
Statewide health care and social assistance added 19,100 jobs over the year, the strongest sector performance in Georgia, and Augusta's dense hospital and research-university health system presence positions the metro to capture a disproportionate share of that momentum. Registered nurse advertised pay locally rose to $95,275, a moderate but real increase that tracks this broader sector strength.
Median advertised pay by role — Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $21,840 | $27,963 | $32,192 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $21,838 | $24,614 | $25,925 | Stable | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $27,604 | $34,762 | $36,400 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $53,333 | $78,438 | $86,850 | Moderate decline | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $26,006 | $30,751 | $34,240 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $33,280 | $38,480 | $49,400 | Stable | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $54,201 | $66,196 | $71,500 | Stable | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $32,004 | $35,453 | $39,520 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $30,244 | $35,360 | $36,900 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $26,575 | $32,629 | $37,071 | Stable | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $30,160 | $34,320 | $37,440 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $31,200 | $37,440 | $40,560 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $54,080 | $62,400 | $69,680 | Moderate decline | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $82,751 | $95,275 | $103,336 | Moderate increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $101,220 | $141,029 | $156,000 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $112,437 | $129,974 | $138,228 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $46,900 | $60,000 | $72,812 | Moderate decline | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $90,000 | $96,391 | $100,628 | Significant increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $41,447 | $65,363 | $71,568 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $41,177 | $50,154 | $50,731 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $65,000 | $81,400 | $91,730 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $29,681 | $51,555 | $57,477 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $60,577 | $80,712 | $90,000 | Moderate increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $54,937 | $80,500 | $99,000 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $82,105 | $99,167 | $116,315 | Stable | $98,279 |
* 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 | $61,987 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $74,194 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $34,038 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $66,118 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $84,116 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $51,870 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $84,839 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $81,665 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $29,289 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $67,686 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Augusta-Richmond County's preliminary unemployment rate held at 4.0% in July, slightly above both the national 4.2% September reading and Georgia's record-low 3.2%, as local labor force and employment levels remain essentially flat year over year. Regional wage momentum is uneven: Richmond County weekly wages rose 4.7% in Q1 to $1,226, a pace that outstrips the metro's broader hiring stagnation and points to selective wage pressure concentrated in specific occupations rather than broad-based labor tightness.
What it means
Metro conditions read as steady-but-soft rather than expansionary — unemployment above both state and recent historical norms, flat nonfarm payrolls near 253,000, and sector gains concentrated in administrative support and retail rather than higher-wage fields, a pattern commerce leaders should treat as a signal of cautious consumer and business spending locally rather than a tightening labor pool. Government economists tracking workforce participation should note Georgia's statewide rate of 61.1% remains below historical norms even as the state posts record labor force totals, suggesting population growth rather than re-engagement of sidelined workers is driving the headline numbers. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion timing may want to weigh this softness against the region's still-favorable cost structure before treating state-level strength as a proxy for metro-level momentum.
Looking ahead
Data release to watch: Official BLS September MSA-level figures for Augusta won't post until November or December, leaving a reporting lag that makes July's 4.0% unemployment rate the most current official local baseline. Press and economists citing current conditions should flag this lag explicitly when making month-over-month comparisons.
Emerging pressure point: Georgia's federal government job losses (down 9,400 year over year) carry outsized relevance for Augusta given the region's defense and federal-contractor presence. Watch whether forthcoming WARN filings or county-level payroll data show this contraction reaching the metro directly.
Potential inflection point: National wage growth has slipped to 3.0%, its lowest annual pace since May 2021, while inflation runs at 3.4% — a gap that, if it persists, erodes real purchasing power for Augusta-area households and could dampen local retail and services spending. Commerce leaders should track whether local retail and food-service wage data (currently stable) begins to show similar erosion.
Worth watching: Manufacturing accounts for nearly 39% of all Georgia WARN-triggered layoffs historically, and metro-level manufacturing production worker pay is already down moderately in Augusta. Any uptick in regional WARN notices in this sector would be an early signal worth flagging for regional economic development planning.
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.
Free to read and cite with attribution to WageScape. Terms of use.