Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Bloomington, IN MSA — October 2026
Bloomington employment falls hardest of any U.S. metro.
Bloomington posted the steepest year-over-year metro employment decline in the nation at -5.9%, even as Indiana's statewide unemployment held near 3.4% and health/education services employment grew 4.1% locally.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro employment change (YoY): -5.9% — Largest decline of any U.S. metro, Oct. 28 BLS release
- Bloomington unemployment rate: 3.7% — Matches Indiana's 3.7% state rate, Sept. 2026
- 2025 area wage change: -6.2% — Tied to university-sector reductions, per IBRC
- Private health/education employment growth: +4.1% — Offsetting durable goods, financial sector declines
Key takeaways
Bloomington's job losses are an outlier even within a strong state.
Indiana posted job gains in Education & Health (+3,700) and Manufacturing (+3,500) statewide in September, while Bloomington recorded the nation's steepest metro-level employment decline at -5.9% year-over-year. Commerce leaders citing state labor data should flag this divergence explicitly when assessing local conditions.
University-driven wage compression looks concentrated in one sector.
The reported 6.2% area wage decline in 2025 traces to university-sector reductions, consistent with advertised pay holding stable or rising in several local roles (Registered Nurse up significantly, HR Generalist up significantly). Treating the wage figure as a whole-economy signal risks overstating household financial stress outside the education sector.
Health and education services are Bloomington's stabilizing sector.
4.1% growth in private health and education services employment is the clearest offsetting force against durable goods and financial sector softness. This sector's resilience, echoed nationally where healthcare leads hiring demand, suggests it will remain the metro's most reliable source of economic momentum into 2026.
Local unemployment forecast to drift toward 4.0% carries real signal.
IBRC's 2026 forecast of Bloomington unemployment rising to 4.0% — still below national and state projections in absolute terms but a meaningful local deterioration from 3.7% — aligns with the metro's employment contraction narrative over the state's labor-tightness story. Commerce leaders should treat this as the more decision-relevant local benchmark over the next two quarters.
Median advertised pay by role — Bloomington, IN MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $22,907 | $28,591 | $32,251 | Moderate decline | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $23,920 | $27,863 | $29,382 | Moderate decline | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $33,280 | $39,520 | $41,600 | Moderate decline | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $60,000 | $79,300 | $90,000 | Stable | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $31,365 | $33,128 | $35,388 | Stable | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $32,240 | $41,600 | $46,940 | Moderate decline | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $56,801 | $70,941 | $73,827 | Significant increase | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $33,610 | $35,970 | $39,809 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $35,672 | $40,938 | $42,500 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $27,544 | $29,120 | $31,833 | Stable | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $33,946 | $36,315 | $40,924 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $32,240 | $39,520 | $41,600 | Moderate increase | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $62,161 | $72,800 | $73,900 | Moderate decline | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $83,062 | $99,324 | $110,957 | Significant increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $90,767 | $96,800 | $140,000 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $92,535 | $109,269 | $140,905 | Significant decline | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $59,108 | $62,728 | $67,923 | Stable | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $74,343 | $89,965 | $94,117 | Moderate decline | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $55,000 | $86,542 | $96,356 | Significant increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $46,090 | $57,438 | $65,633 | Stable | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $77,596 | $83,253 | $92,092 | Moderate increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $29,800 | $46,517 | $57,555 | Stable | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $68,030 | $91,174 | $110,000 | Significant increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $64,250 | $67,500 | $83,285 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $75,506 | $96,464 | $106,217 | 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 | $67,601 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $67,778 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $36,626 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $50,776 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $59,411 | Significant increase | Moderate increase |
| Financial Activities | $46,800 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $63,613 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $76,100 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,200 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $65,688 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Bloomington's labor market diverges sharply from both state and national trends: the metro posted the largest over-the-year employment decline of any U.S. metro area at -5.9% as of the October 28 BLS release, while Indiana overall added jobs and held unemployment near 3.4%. University-sector wage reductions drove a 6.2% drop in area wages across 2025, even as private health and education services employment grew 4.1%, partially offsetting steep losses in durable goods manufacturing and financial activities.
What it means
A metro contracting in employment while the state and nation expand signals that Bloomington's downturn is local and structural, tied to university-sector retrenchment — a distinction that matters for how commerce leaders calibrate expansion or investment timing against state-level data that looks far more favorable. Health and education services strength suggests the metro's institutional anchors remain a stabilizing force even as other sectors contract, but local business climate reads should discount Indiana's statewide 3.4% unemployment figure since it masks the metro's -5.9% employment swing. Commerce leaders should consider evaluating local investment and expansion decisions against metro-specific indicators, given how far Bloomington's trajectory has decoupled from Indiana's broader momentum.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: Watch whether Bloomington's -5.9% employment decline moderates in the next BLS metro release or deepens further; a second consecutive sharp decline would confirm a structural, multi-quarter contraction.
Worth watching: University-sector wage and staffing decisions remain the single largest driver of metro-wide wage data; any public announcements from Indiana University on budget or staffing will likely move the metro's headline wage figures more than any other local employer action.
Early indicator: National CPI data due November 10 will clarify whether Bloomington's wage softness compounds a real-wage squeeze on local consumer spending, a key variable for retail and commerce leaders assessing near-term demand.
Emerging pressure point: Monroe County's 2,705 unemployed persons against a shrinking labor force warrants monitoring — if labor force participation declines alongside employment, it would signal residents leaving the workforce entirely, a different and more concerning economic story than residents simply changing jobs.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Bloomington had the largest over-the-year metro employment decline at -5.9%
- Indiana Business Research Center — Bloomington area wages fell 6.2% in 2025
- Indiana Department of Workforce Development — Indiana statewide private employment rose 3,200 with Education & Health +3,700
- Indiana Business Research Center — Private health and education services employment grew 4.1% in Bloomington
- Indiana Business Research Center — Bloomington unemployment forecast to rise to 4.0% in 2026
- STATS Indiana — Monroe County had 2,705 unemployed persons in September 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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