Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Decatur, IL MSA — September 2026
Decatur's jobless rate improves, but the labor base keeps shrinking.
Decatur MSA unemployment fell to 5.6% from a 6.8% February peak, yet still runs well above the 4.1% national rate, while advertised pay diverges sharply — warehouse pay up to $40,560 and nurse pay to $104,605, even as construction labor pay fell to $35,360.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Decatur MSA unemployment rate: 5.6% — Down from 6.8% in Feb 2026, vs 4.1% national
- Decatur total nonfarm employment: 47,700 jobs — Essentially flat over the year
- Illinois labor force: 6.477M — Down from 6.571M in March 2026
- National wage growth vs inflation: 3.0% vs 3.4% — First real-wage decline in two years
Key takeaways
Decatur's unemployment drop is real but starts from a weak base.
Rate fell from 6.8% in February to 5.6% in September, yet remains more than a point above both state and national figures. Improvement looks like stabilization after a rough winter, not evidence the metro has closed its structural gap with peer Illinois metros.
Logistics and healthcare pay is pulling away from the rest of the basket.
Warehouse/fulfillment pay rose significantly to $40,560 and registered nurse pay climbed to $104,605 locally, both outpacing stable or declining categories like customer service ($34,039, down) and construction labor ($35,360, down significantly). Divergence this wide within one small metro is consistent with uneven sector demand rather than broad-based wage pressure.
Illinois' falling jobless rate masks a shrinking labor force, not stronger hiring.
State labor force contracted from 6.57 million in March to 6.48 million by August even as unemployment improved, a pattern Moody's attributes to workforce exit rather than job creation. Decatur's own population decline suggests the same dynamic may be understating the metro's real labor-supply constraints.
Construction and skilled-trades softness breaks from the state's growth story.
Illinois construction employment grew statewide (+13,400 year-over-year, among the largest sector gains), yet Decatur's construction laborer and electrician advertised pay both moved down this month. Local trajectory running counter to the state trend is worth flagging for anyone tracking whether EDGE-backed investment activity is reaching this metro.
Median advertised pay by role — Decatur, IL MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $30,724 | $33,280 | $34,320 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $28,622 | $32,065 | $33,471 | Stable | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,824 | $40,560 | $43,680 | Significant increase | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $57,200 | $82,500 | $93,600 | Moderate increase | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $29,630 | $34,775 | $41,600 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $32,899 | $35,360 | $38,480 | Significant decline | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $56,177 | $67,600 | $72,655 | Moderate decline | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $35,628 | $42,432 | $47,840 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $24,517 | $34,039 | $37,846 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $29,938 | $34,320 | $35,360 | Stable | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $36,622 | $39,520 | $42,640 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $35,172 | $41,600 | $46,800 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $59,195 | $68,436 | $80,600 | Significant increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $83,200 | $104,605 | $112,949 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $70,004 | $94,750 | $94,974 | Stable | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $99,156 | $140,500 | $158,000 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $60,600 | $72,297 | $79,337 | Moderate increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst * | $74,720 | $94,000 | $101,623 | Stable | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $70,711 | $88,262 | $89,557 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $47,706 | $66,092 | $75,000 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $74,506 | $98,612 | $105,250 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $36,400 | $49,525 | $54,287 | Moderate decline | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $75,109 | $111,850 | $120,409 | Significant increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $65,000 | $87,500 | $91,350 | Moderate decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $79,639 | $91,484 | $91,727 | Moderate decline | $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 | $67,788 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $84,631 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $35,100 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $64,147 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $47,012 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $59,062 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $62,400 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $68,241 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $33,354 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $65,784 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Decatur MSA's not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 5.6% in September, down sharply from a 6.8% February peak but still running well above the 4.1% national and 4.5% Illinois rates, reflecting a small, demographically shrinking labor base rather than a cooling boom. Job gains remain narrow and uneven — total nonfarm employment holds near 47,700, with Education and Health Services expanding while Leisure and Hospitality continues to contract, consistent with the metro's long-running structural reliance on a handful of anchor sectors.
What it means
Elevated but improving unemployment alongside a historically tight 47,700-job base suggests Decatur's recovery is real but fragile, with little slack to absorb a shock and little surplus labor to fuel expansion without drawing from neighboring counties. Advertised pay moving up sharply in warehouse/fulfillment, CDL driving, and registered nursing roles locally — even as construction labor and customer service pay soften — points to a bifurcated local economy where logistics, healthcare, and skilled trades are tightening while entry-level services slacken. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion or relocation decisions should consider weighing this sector divergence against the metro's shrinking population base before assuming uniform labor availability.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Decatur's next two unemployment readings hold near 5.6% or resume the volatility seen between February's 6.8% spike and July's 4.9% trough. A single-month swing of a point or more has been the metro's pattern this year, and another sharp move would complicate any narrative of durable improvement.
Emerging pressure point: Illinois logged 29 WARN notices affecting 9,357 workers in the past 90 days, concentrated in telecom and health-adjacent firms (Uber, Norvax/GoHealth, T-Mobile) outside Decatur proper. Track whether any displaced workers migrate into the Decatur labor pool, which could temporarily ease the metro's tight logistics and healthcare segments.
Potential inflection point: National wage growth has slipped to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation, the first real-wage decline in two years. If that gap persists into Decatur's October-November readings, local consumer spending capacity — not just local job counts — becomes the more consequential story for retail and commerce leaders.
Worth watching: Illinois' Q1 EDGE tax-credit commitments topped $2.5 billion and 4,000 jobs statewide, concentrated in Will County and Chicago-area projects. Absence of comparable announced investment in the Decatur MSA this cycle is itself a signal worth tracking for 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.
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