Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Glens Falls, NY MSA — September 2026
Glens Falls' low jobless rate hides a shrinking payroll base.
Glens Falls unemployment sits at a reassuring 3.4%, but nonfarm payrolls contracted 0.4% over the past year and average weekly wages of $1,231 still trail the national $1,654 by roughly a quarter.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.4% — vs 4.1% U.S., 4.3% New York State
- Metro nonfarm payroll change: -0.4% — Private jobs grew +0.9% over same period
- Average weekly wage: $1,231 — vs $1,654 U.S. average, Q1 2026
- National wage growth: 3.0% y/y — Below 3.4% inflation; lowest since May 2021
Key takeaways
Low unemployment is masking a shrinking job base.
A 3.4% unemployment rate looks healthy against the 4.1% national figure, but total nonfarm payrolls fell 0.4% over the latest full year even as private employment rose 0.9%. The gap points to public-sector contraction and a tightening labor pool rather than robust economic expansion.
Healthcare remains the metro's clearest growth engine.
Registered Nurse pay is up significantly both locally ($112,034) and nationally, and Glens Falls Hospital and Hudson Headwaters together employ over 3,500 people in the region. This concentration makes local economic health increasingly tied to the stability of a handful of health systems.
White-collar pay is diverging sharply from the national trend.
Software Engineer and Account Manager advertised pay fell locally while national figures held stable or rose, a pattern distinct from the Capital Region's broader strength in finance and professional services. This may reflect limited corporate-sector depth rather than cooling demand, a distinction that matters for how the metro positions itself to prospective employers.
Skilled trades are quietly outperforming the wider wage picture.
CDL Truck Driver pay rose significantly ($81,207) and Electrician pay moderately, both above national medians, even as broader metro wages trail the U.S. average by over $400 a week. Transportation and construction activity appear to be the pockets of genuine local wage momentum.
Median advertised pay by role — Glens Falls, NY MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $32,219 | $33,077 | $34,320 | Moderate decline | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $33,280 | $35,360 | $37,440 | Moderate decline | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $37,440 | $40,058 | $42,000 | Moderate decline | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $59,280 | $81,207 | $90,781 | Significant increase | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $31,093 | $33,719 | $36,859 | Moderate decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $39,520 | $42,150 | $44,720 | Moderate decline | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $55,905 | $72,915 | $72,965 | Moderate increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $32,321 | $39,520 | $43,680 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $37,440 | $40,880 | $41,600 | Significant decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $33,547 | $34,505 | $36,244 | Stable | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $37,630 | $41,870 | $44,200 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $39,294 | $46,384 | $49,472 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician * | $58,786 | $68,712 | $75,920 | Moderate increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $92,001 | $112,034 | $123,414 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $115,432 | $180,123 | $209,948 | Moderate decline | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $99,248 | $142,396 | $159,248 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $72,686 | $83,200 | $86,339 | Significant increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst * | $72,517 | $94,295 | $102,336 | Moderate increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $63,100 | $72,500 | $91,500 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $45,760 | $59,470 | $70,614 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,000 | $85,960 | $100,600 | Moderate decline | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $36,204 | $52,225 | $62,638 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $38,168 | $57,500 | $60,000 | Significant decline | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $47,232 | $62,774 | $75,021 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $72,500 | $93,526 | $94,971 | Stable | $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 | $54,329 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $63,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $34,687 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $39,232 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $49,920 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $55,000 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $60,116 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $72,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $37,190 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $69,310 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Glens Falls MSA unemployment held at 3.4% in August 2026, well below the 4.1% national rate, but the metro's nonfarm payrolls still contracted 0.4% over the year ending December 2025 even as private-sector jobs grew 0.9% -- a split consistent with public-sector softness offsetting modest private gains. Average weekly wages of $1,231 in Q1 2026 trail the U.S. average of $1,654 by roughly 26%, a gap that persists even as healthcare and leisure/hospitality continue adding positions locally.
What it means
Low local unemployment paired with flat-to-negative overall payroll growth suggests a labor market constrained by available workers rather than demand -- a dynamic economic development leaders should factor into any pitch to employers considering expansion here. Widening local-to-national wage gaps in white-collar roles (Account Manager, Software Engineer both down locally while rising nationally) may reflect a thinner regional base of large corporate employers rather than weak demand, which matters for how commerce groups frame the metro's competitive position. Current conditions suggest regional economic development messaging should lean on sector strengths that are outperforming -- healthcare wage growth and skilled trades -- rather than broad wage comparisons that disadvantage the narrative.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: September 2026 BLS data for Glens Falls will be the first full read since the national payroll report showed just 29,000 jobs added and a 3.0% wage-growth slowdown. Watch whether the metro's 3.4% unemployment rate holds or drifts toward the state's 4.3%.
Emerging pressure point: New York's local government shed 13,000 jobs statewide in September outside education, and Glens Falls nonfarm payrolls already contracted in the prior year. Any further public-sector pullback would land on a metro with limited private-sector depth to absorb it.
Early indicator: Statewide labor force participation slipped from 61.5% to 61.3% in July, and national participation is flat at 61.8%. A similar drift locally would suggest the metro's low unemployment rate reflects fewer job-seekers rather than a strengthening economy.
Potential inflection point: Construction and manufacturing wage pressure flagged in the Federal Reserve's September Beige Book for New York aligns with the metro's standout local gains in CDL driver and electrician pay. Continued momentum in these trades could be a leading signal for regional infrastructure and housing activity.
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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