Labor Market Pulse · Human Resources · September 2026
Human Resources Labor Market Report: Great Falls, MT MSA — September 2026
Great Falls stays tight as Montana's wage growth outpaces the nation.
Cascade County unemployment sits at 3.0% against a national 4.1%, while Montana's hourly wages grew 4.7% in 2025 — the second-fastest pace in the country.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Cascade County unemployment: 3.0% — vs 4.1% national, up from 2.9% in May 2026
- Montana hourly wage growth: 4.7% — 2024-2025, 2nd fastest in U.S. (BLS OEWS)
- Montana living wage, single adult: $24.32/hr — vs $10.85 state minimum wage floor
- Recruiter advertised pay, metro: $71,211 — vs $68,167 national median
Key takeaways
Local unemployment inched up, but don't read it as slack.
Cascade County's rise from 2.9% to 3.0% in two months still sits a full point below the national 4.1%, and Montana's statewide rate has held under 3% for twelve straight months. Treat this as noise within a persistently tight labor supply, not a signal to ease hiring urgency.
Recruiter pay is outrunning its national counterpart.
Metro Recruiter advertised pay sits at $71,211 against a national median of $68,167 — a local premium that's unusual given Great Falls' smaller labor market and may reflect employers competing harder to fill their own talent acquisition pipelines amid sustained scarcity.
HR Coordinator pay is moving fastest of any HR role tracked.
Metro advertised pay for HR Coordinator roles is up significantly this month, outpacing the national trend of moderate growth. This looks consistent with Montana's broader wage compression pattern, where entry- and mid-level roles are seeing sharper movement than leadership tiers.
Healthcare's hiring gravity is reshaping the local talent map.
Hospital employment statewide posted its largest annual increase since 2016 while manufacturing contracted 2.8%, a divergence playing out locally given Great Falls' healthcare and federal employment concentration. Compensation benchmarking should weight healthcare roles more heavily than historical mix would suggest.
Median advertised pay by role — Great Falls, MT MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst * | $72,500 | $105,997 | $119,925 | Moderate increase | $101,727 |
| HR Business Partner | $57,200 | $70,746 | $77,147 | Significant increase | $83,766 |
| Benefits Manager * | $87,350 | $114,327 | $122,901 | Moderate increase | $117,888 |
| HRIS Analyst * | $82,089 | $97,578 | $109,625 | Moderate increase | $97,555 |
| HR Coordinator * | $38,545 | $48,152 | $55,105 | Significant increase | $50,000 |
| Recruiter | $54,076 | $71,211 | $71,760 | Significant increase | $68,167 |
| Payroll Specialist * | $45,782 | $54,675 | $63,916 | Moderate increase | $59,855 |
* 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
Local market conditions
Cascade County's unemployment rate ticked up to 3.0% in July 2026 from 2.9% in May, still well below the national 4.1% and consistent with Montana's twelfth straight month under 3% statewide, pointing to persistent labor scarcity rather than cooling demand. Great Falls' economic base remains anchored by Malmstrom Air Force Base and federal civilian employment, with healthcare continuing to outpace manufacturing and hospitality as the metro's primary growth engine.
What it means
Tight county-level unemployment combined with Montana's second-fastest wage growth nationally (hourly wages up 4.7% in 2025) means Great Falls employers compete against a rising statewide pay floor even as national hiring urgency eases, so local retention strategy can't simply follow national cooling signals. Healthcare's outsized role in local job growth and manufacturing's decline suggest workforce planning should diverge sharply by sector — aggressive retention where labor is scarce, restructuring readiness where it isn't. Consider reviewing compensation structures against Montana's $24.32/hour single-adult living wage benchmark, particularly for hourly and entry-level roles where compression risk is highest.
Looking ahead
Expected release: BLS metro-level data for Great Falls MSA covering September won't post until October 20. Expect any local softening or tightening signal to arrive with a lag — plan compensation reviews around that release date rather than national monthly prints.
Emerging pressure point: Montana's minimum wage rose to $10.85/hour in January and adjusts annually by CPI, compounding with statewide wage growth running near 3.5% year-over-year. Entry-level and hourly compensation structures may need interim adjustment before the next scheduled review cycle.
Worth watching: Statewide information and technology employment grew 28% in 2025 even as Great Falls' base remains federal- and healthcare-heavy. Watch whether any spillover tech hiring or remote-work talent competition reaches the metro and pulls on HR, recruiting, or coordinator-level pay locally.
Potential inflection point: Montana's 406 JOBS initiative is expanding registered apprenticeships and rural health workforce programs. Great Falls employers facing healthcare or skilled-trade scarcity may find near-term pipeline relief through state-subsidized partnerships rather than pay alone.
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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