Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Champaign-Urbana, IL MSA — October 2026
Champaign's jobless rate hits 3.5% as Illinois workforce shrinks.
Champaign-Urbana's unemployment fell to 3.5% in September, more than a full point below the statewide 4.6% rate, even as Illinois' labor force contracted 1.3% over the year.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.5% — vs 4.6% Illinois, 4.1% U.S. (Sept 2026)
- Local wage growth: 1.9% — Champaign Co. Q1 2026, vs 3.7% national CPI
- Illinois labor force change: -1.3% — Year-over-year statewide, Sept 2026
- Metro nonfarm job growth: +200 jobs — Year-over-year, record monthly job count
Key takeaways
Champaign's jobless rate decouples from the state trend.
3.5% local unemployment against 4.6% statewide is a wider gap than typical for the metro, suggesting Champaign-Urbana's institutional anchors (higher education, healthcare, banking) are insulating it from the manufacturing- and distribution-driven WARN activity concentrated around Chicago. That insulation is a selling point for commerce leaders courting employers sensitive to workforce reliability.
Wage growth locally trails the inflation story nationally.
Champaign County's 1.9% year-over-year wage gain in Q1 2026 sits well below the 3.5% CPI increase cited in national data, consistent with the broader pattern of real wages eroding even where job counts are rising. That divergence matters for consumer spending projections more than for any single payroll decision.
Software engineering pay signals a pocket of local demand strength.
Metro software engineer advertised pay ($170,000, up significantly) outpaces the national median ($154,403), an outlier against an otherwise flat-to-moderate local pay picture. That signal is worth tracking as a marker of whether Champaign is building a defensible tech-sector niche alongside its university and healthcare base.
Record job counts mask a two-speed wage pattern.
Roles like Operations Manager (+moderate) and Financial Analyst (+significant) show meaningful advertised pay gains locally, while Construction Laborer, Electrician, and Data Engineer pay moved down moderately to significantly. Uneven pay trajectories across occupations suggest the metro's growth is lifting sectors unevenly, a distinction useful for development planning that targets specific industries.
Median advertised pay by role — Champaign-Urbana, IL MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $31,200 | $34,320 | $36,920 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $28,867 | $32,240 | $34,044 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $34,195 | $40,560 | $43,680 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $59,693 | $81,009 | $91,000 | Moderate increase | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $31,118 | $34,320 | $42,049 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $37,440 | $42,094 | $45,843 | Significant decline | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $58,827 | $71,389 | $80,652 | Moderate decline | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $32,343 | $38,480 | $43,680 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $25,122 | $38,480 | $42,120 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $31,200 | $37,325 | $40,974 | Moderate decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $36,743 | $44,720 | $49,868 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $37,281 | $44,522 | $49,708 | Stable | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $56,020 | $58,017 | $61,304 | Stable | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $92,594 | $114,394 | $122,237 | Stable | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $94,749 | $170,000 | $173,630 | Significant increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $87,077 | $89,140 | $102,872 | Significant decline | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $56,265 | $71,765 | $83,746 | Moderate decline | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $75,491 | $97,931 | $124,107 | Significant increase | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $62,500 | $69,000 | $76,884 | Significant increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $52,713 | $55,698 | $59,625 | Significant decline | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $75,000 | $98,658 | $105,495 | Moderate increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $37,550 | $56,160 | $62,189 | Moderate increase | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $51,488 | $66,856 | $75,000 | Moderate decline | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $65,000 | $88,516 | $91,749 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $81,189 | $97,635 | $103,809 | 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 | $57,421 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $69,961 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $43,264 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $54,080 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Information | $153,270 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $61,450 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $92,641 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $73,500 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $33,265 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $65,344 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Champaign-Urbana's unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in September, down 0.7 points year-over-year and well below both the Illinois rate of 4.6% and the national rate of 4.1%, while the metro posted record nonfarm job totals for the second consecutive measured month. Momentum appears concentrated in steady gains across multiple sectors, with the University of Illinois, regional healthcare, and financial institutions such as Busey Bank anchoring payrolls even as the state's broader labor force continues to contract.
What it means
Local economic momentum reads positive against both state and national benchmarks, but the gap between a 3.5% jobless rate and Illinois' persistent labor-force shrinkage (-1.3% year-over-year statewide) signals a local labor pool that is tight even as it grows. Commerce leaders weighing expansion or relocation decisions should treat Champaign's low unemployment as a signal of competition for available workers amid limited slack, and government economists should watch whether local labor force participation is holding steadier than the state trend or merely lagging it. Consider reviewing whether Champaign County's participation data, once released, confirms the metro is adding workers or simply tightening around a fixed base.
Looking ahead
Expected release: October metro-level unemployment and payroll data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security should land in November and will show whether the 3.5% rate and record job counts held or reflect seasonal noise.
Worth watching: Illinois' statewide labor force contracted 0.1% month-over-month and 1.3% year-over-year; watch whether Champaign County's participation rate, once reported, is resisting that trend or simply following it with a lag.
Early indicator: National WARN activity remains concentrated in manufacturing, retail, and distribution outside this metro; no Champaign-specific WARN filings surfaced this month, a pattern worth confirming holds into November given statewide layoff notices are up 24% year-over-year.
Potential inflection point: Advertised pay for Data Engineer and Accountant roles moved down significantly locally even as national medians held steady or rose, a divergence that could reflect local demand softening in those specific functions and is worth tracking for whether it broadens to adjacent professional-services roles.
Sources
- Illinois Department of Employment Security — Champaign-Urbana unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in September 2026
- Illinois Department of Employment Security — Illinois statewide unemployment rate at 4.6% in September, third straight monthly decline
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Champaign County average weekly wages up 1.9% year-over-year in Q1 2026
- Illinois Department of Employment Security — Illinois labor force shrank 1.3% year-over-year as of September 2026
- layoffdata.com WARN tracker — Illinois WARN notices up 24% year-over-year in affected worker count
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — National CPI inflation gain of 3.5%-3.7% year-over-year cited against wage growth
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.