Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL MSA — September 2026
Deltona's jobless rate outpaces the nation as trade wages climb.
Volusia County unemployment sits at 5.8% against a national 4.1%, even as HVAC and construction pay rise and Florida's minimum wage climbs to $15.00 on September 30.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Volusia County unemployment rate: 5.8% — vs 4.1% national, 4.5% Florida statewide
- Daytona Beach job postings: 14,900+ — Active listings, late September 2026
- Florida minimum wage increase: $15.00/hr — Effective Sept 30, 2026; tipped wage $11.98
- National real wage growth: -0.1% YoY — Wages 3.0% vs inflation 3.4%, first gap in 2 yrs
Key takeaways
Volusia's jobless rate is an outlier worth explaining, not just reporting.
At 5.8%, Volusia County runs more than a point above the national 4.1% and above Florida's 4.5% statewide figure. Press and policy audiences should note this gap predates the most recent state and national readings, meaning local conditions may be lagging rather than tracking the broader Florida slowdown.
Skilled trades pay is rising while clerical and production pay softens.
Construction laborer, HVAC technician and electrician pay all moved up moderately-to-significantly this month, while manufacturing production worker and customer service representative pay declined significantly. This divergence is consistent with national sector splits favoring hands-on work over white-collar and production roles, a pattern commerce leaders should factor into any read on which local industries are gaining ground.
Florida's minimum wage jump lands as a genuine wage-floor event, not noise.
Florida's minimum wage rises to $15.00 (and $16.00 statewide thereafter) effective September 30, tipped minimum to $11.98, directly affecting the metro's large hospitality and retail base. Expect this to show up in October postings data as a mechanical lift to the bottom of the local pay scale rather than a market-driven signal.
Healthcare support pay gains look structural, tracking a statewide trend.
Certified Nursing Assistant/Home Health Aide pay rose moderately in the metro, mirroring Florida's broader education-and-health-services sector, which added the most jobs of any sector statewide. This is consistent with sustained demand for care-economy labor rather than a one-month blip.
Median advertised pay by role — Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $26,158 | $31,200 | $33,280 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $27,665 | $31,200 | $32,054 | Stable | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,029 | $34,320 | $37,440 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $59,088 | $78,650 | $91,000 | Stable | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $29,833 | $31,562 | $36,124 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $31,586 | $41,600 | $44,720 | Moderate increase | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $56,160 | $61,360 | $69,522 | Moderate increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $33,280 | $35,498 | $40,560 | Significant decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $33,004 | $36,920 | $40,452 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $28,258 | $30,426 | $30,608 | Stable | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $33,280 | $38,480 | $39,520 | Moderate increase | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $33,612 | $41,368 | $45,424 | Significant increase | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $40,659 | $57,582 | $61,078 | Significant increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $77,690 | $87,121 | $93,600 | Stable | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $109,907 | $139,999 | $147,525 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $99,151 | $134,752 | $152,955 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $53,601 | $64,320 | $75,150 | Stable | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $75,763 | $94,200 | $99,388 | Significant increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $54,040 | $65,000 | $76,958 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $54,312 | $62,068 | $62,821 | Significant decline | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $60,000 | $72,643 | $87,458 | Stable | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $33,800 | $50,750 | $50,750 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $63,295 | $80,000 | $89,783 | Stable | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $61,238 | $72,000 | $75,000 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $74,735 | $98,650 | $110,462 | Significant increase | $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 | $56,313 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $55,951 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $34,654 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $61,500 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $59,500 | Significant decline | Moderate decline |
| Financial Activities | $55,361 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $45,011 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $50,250 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $33,545 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,922 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Volusia County's unemployment rate sat at 5.8% in the latest available Florida Department of Commerce reading, running well above both the national rate of 4.1% and the statewide figure of 4.5%, consistent with a metro economy cooling faster than its peers even as over 14,900 job postings remained open in Daytona Beach in late September. Advertised pay across the metro's basket of occupations shows a split pattern -- gains in construction, HVAC and administrative roles alongside declines in manufacturing, customer service and delivery driving, pointing to uneven momentum rather than a uniform slowdown or expansion.
What it means
Wider-than-average unemployment combined with mixed wage signals suggests the metro's labor market is absorbing workers unevenly across sectors, a pattern government economists should weigh against statewide forecasts of unemployment rising toward 4.9% before easing. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion timing may find the construction, HVAC and healthcare support occupations -- where advertised pay is climbing -- a more reliable read on local demand than the metro's headline unemployment figure alone. Consider reviewing sector-level postings data before drawing conclusions from the top-line Volusia rate, since aggregate figures may mask divergent conditions in trades versus clerical and production work.
Looking ahead
Expected policy effect: Florida's minimum wage increase to $15.00 takes effect September 30, with a further step to $16.00 under CPI-indexed adjustments. Watch October postings data for Deltona's retail, food service and hospitality occupations to see how quickly advertised pay floors move.
Worth watching: Volusia's 5.8% unemployment rate is the most recent county-level figure available; a fresher metro-level read from BLS or Florida Commerce in the coming weeks will clarify whether the gap to state and national rates is widening or narrowing.
Emerging pressure point: National WARN filings have climbed year over year with Amazon, Meta, Verizon and Tyson Foods among firms appearing prominently; no metro-specific WARN activity has surfaced yet for Deltona-Daytona Beach. Local economic development offices should monitor CareerSource Brevard Flagler Volusia filings for any regional spillover.
Potential inflection point: Real wages nationally are no longer outpacing inflation (3.0% wage growth vs 3.4% CPI), the first such gap in two years. If this pattern holds locally, consumer spending momentum in Deltona's retail and hospitality-heavy economy bears watching into the holiday season.
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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