Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL MSA — October 2026
Florence healthcare pay climbs while office wages soften.
Metro registered nurse pay rose significantly to $88,768 even as administrative assistant pay fell to $37,500, against a metro unemployment rate of 4.0% that remains above last year's 3.5%.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 4.0% — July 2026, up from 3.5% a year earlier
- Metro vs. national hourly wage: $23.42 — vs. $32.66 national average, May 2025 data
- Alabama unemployment rate: 3.5% — Sept 2026, up from 2.8% a year earlier
- Alabama prime-age labor force participation: 79.5% — up from 78.4% a year earlier
Key takeaways
Metro unemployment ticked up, but for the state's stated reason.
Florence-Muscle Shoals' 4.0% July rate, up from 3.5% a year earlier, mirrors Alabama's statewide climb to 3.5%, which the state attributes to rising labor force participation. Local unemployment movement should be read alongside participation data as part of a fuller demand picture.
Registered nurse pay surge outpaces nearly every other tracked role.
Metro RN advertised pay rose significantly to $88,768, trailing the national median of $102,252 but closing ground faster than most occupations in the metro basket. This tracks the statewide record in private education and health services employment (272,000 jobs) and points to healthcare as the metro's clearest growth sector.
Wide swath of office and consumer-facing pay is softening locally.
Administrative assistant pay fell significantly (to $37,500) and HR, marketing, food service, and home health aide pay each declined moderately, even as several of these roles rose nationally. This divergence from national trends points to metro-specific softness, worth distinguishing before drawing conclusions about overall local demand.
Public-sector pay action in Muscle Shoals bucks the private wage pattern.
Council-approved raises for non-emergency city employees arrive as several private-sector advertised wages in the metro are flat or falling, illustrating the public-sector stability theme playing out on its own track, distinct from the private wage picture. Government economists may find this a useful local case study in wage-vs-inflation dynamics playing out unevenly across sectors.
Median advertised pay by role — Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $20,159 | $24,497 | $27,026 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $22,637 | $24,939 | $25,962 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $30,291 | $34,276 | $36,546 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $61,100 | $81,900 | $90,279 | Stable | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $29,220 | $31,201 | $32,708 | Significant decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $29,510 | $34,320 | $35,620 | Stable | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $54,532 | $67,057 | $68,728 | Moderate decline | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $31,745 | $33,674 | $34,226 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $18,325 | $33,404 | $34,830 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $25,248 | $27,040 | $27,040 | Moderate decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $24,960 | $34,320 | $36,140 | Moderate decline | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $29,120 | $37,500 | $42,640 | Significant decline | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $49,920 | $67,500 | $68,640 | Moderate decline | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $73,003 | $88,768 | $98,042 | Significant increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer * | $104,079 | $148,031 | $160,000 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer * | $99,179 | $136,840 | $155,677 | Stable | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $50,245 | $58,963 | $58,963 | Moderate increase | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst * | $71,592 | $90,151 | $101,623 | Stable | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $52,946 | $56,702 | $56,702 | Significant decline | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $43,355 | $56,056 | $69,005 | Moderate decline | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $55,900 | $70,072 | $75,737 | Significant decline | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $33,524 | $53,464 | $60,588 | Stable | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $45,000 | $61,900 | $67,000 | Moderate increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $43,698 | $57,387 | $77,854 | Moderate decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $80,265 | $97,933 | $108,351 | Moderate 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 | $53,030 | Stable | Moderate decline |
| Manufacturing | $62,482 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $32,932 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $56,723 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $51,247 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Financial Activities | $44,899 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $55,120 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $87,011 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $26,823 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $64,839 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Florence-Muscle Shoals unemployment held at 4.0% in July 2026, down from 4.3% in June but still above July 2025's 3.5%, a gap that tracks Alabama's statewide rise to 3.5% from 2.8% a year earlier. Metro wage levels remain well below national benchmarks across occupations — the local average hourly wage of $23.42 trails the U.S. average of $32.66 by nearly 30% — while Muscle Shoals' approval of raises for non-emergency city employees signals public-sector wage movement even as several metro-tracked private-sector roles show flat or declining advertised pay.
What it means
Metro wage softness in roles like administrative support, HR, marketing and food service — several down moderately to significantly on advertised pay — suggests local employers are holding steady on price in those categories, a sign of slack in parts of the consumer-facing and back-office economy. Meanwhile gains in registered nursing (+ significant), accounting, and business analyst pay point to where demand is concentrated, consistent with the statewide pattern of health services and professional/business services leading job growth. Commerce leaders assessing the local business climate should weigh this unevenness directly: current conditions suggest expansion opportunities look strongest in healthcare-adjacent and professional services, while consumer-facing sectors show little pricing pressure for talent.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: August and September Lauderdale County unemployment figures (4.0% preliminary, 1,755 unemployed in September) will clarify whether the metro's modest improvement from June's 4.3% holds through fall or reverses alongside the statewide uptick.
Emerging pressure point: Advertised pay declines in administrative, HR, marketing, and home health roles stand out against national gains in those same categories; a second month of divergence would suggest a metro-specific softening worth flagging to local economic development contacts.
Early indicator: Statewide manufacturing wage records ($1,389.75 weekly in July) and Alabama's 6th-place national ranking in skilled trades growth suggest production and construction wages in Florence-Muscle Shoals, where production occupations already account for 9.9% of local employment, are worth tracking for similar momentum.
Potential inflection point: Prime-age labor force participation statewide rose to 79.5% from 78.4%, framed by state officials as a sign of expansion; whether Lauderdale and Colbert counties show a similar participation gain alongside their unemployment uptick will determine if the same read applies locally.
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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