Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Gulfport-Biloxi, MS MSA — September 2026
Gulfport wages outpace the nation while the labor pool stays shallow.
Harrison County wages rose 6.9% year-over-year against a 4.2% national pace, even as Mississippi's 54.4% labor force participation rate trails the 62.2% national figure.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Harrison County wage growth: 6.9% — vs 4.2% national average, Q4 2025 YoY
- Metro unemployment rate: 4.1% — June 2026, vs 4.1% national, 3.7% state
- State labor force participation: 54.4% — vs 62.2% national rate
- Professional/Business Services growth: 6.6% — 1,300 jobs added YoY through July 2026
Key takeaways
Local wages are outrunning the nation, not just inflation.
Harrison County's 6.9% year-over-year wage gain beats the 4.2% national average and arrives as national wage growth has slowed to 3.0%. That gap points to a locally tight labor supply rather than a broad national wage acceleration, a distinction relevant to anyone pricing local investment or expansion.
Professional services growth hints at quiet diversification.
The sector added 1,300 jobs (6.6%) year-over-year through July, a notable shift for a metro historically anchored in gaming and hospitality. Whether this growth persists will say more about the coast's long-term economic resilience than any single quarter's unemployment reading.
Participation, not unemployment, is the binding constraint.
Mississippi's 54.4% labor force participation rate trails the national 62.2% by a wide margin, meaning low unemployment locally may reflect fewer active job seekers rather than a fully absorbed workforce. That gap limits how much the metro can scale economic activity without drawing people back into the labor force.
National cooling has not yet reached the coast.
While U.S. payroll growth decelerated sharply in September and government employment nationally shed jobs, Gulfport-Biloxi's wage and sector signals still point to local momentum. Commerce leaders should treat this as a lead indicator worth tracking rather than an assurance that national softening will bypass the metro entirely.
Median advertised pay by role — Gulfport-Biloxi, MS MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $20,998 | $25,942 | $29,472 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $21,840 | $23,581 | $25,574 | Moderate decline | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $25,240 | $33,398 | $34,320 | Moderate increase | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $56,246 | $79,749 | $88,812 | Stable | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $24,858 | $28,957 | $31,464 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $27,040 | $32,568 | $36,400 | Moderate decline | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $57,200 | $71,390 | $72,953 | Significant increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $30,477 | $41,263 | $46,800 | Significant increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $30,919 | $34,778 | $39,905 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $24,273 | $26,875 | $36,400 | Significant decline | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $22,880 | $29,120 | $31,200 | Moderate decline | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $30,867 | $37,440 | $41,600 | Moderate increase | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $46,800 | $57,744 | $58,240 | Significant increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $71,143 | $84,203 | $92,895 | Stable | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $81,224 | $87,579 | $98,000 | Significant decline | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $81,908 | $111,467 | $111,784 | Significant increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $50,901 | $60,003 | $80,000 | Moderate decline | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $65,665 | $85,607 | $85,607 | Significant increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager * | $41,123 | $55,000 | $67,500 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $40,901 | $56,684 | $75,516 | Significant increase | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $68,896 | $68,896 | $68,896 | Stable | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $22,880 | $31,720 | $44,720 | Moderate increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $56,370 | $80,000 | $90,000 | Stable | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $65,413 | $65,413 | $65,413 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $63,070 | $82,076 | $93,055 | Moderate 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 | $56,061 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $71,615 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $34,053 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $55,000 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $51,750 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $48,877 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $41,600 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $49,010 | Significant decline | Stable |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $29,120 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $63,387 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Gulfport-Biloxi's labor market shows a wage-led economy diverging from the national picture: Harrison County weekly wages rose 6.9% year-over-year in Q4 2025, well above the 4.2% national pace, even as the metro's 4.1% unemployment rate sits slightly above the state's 3.7% and roughly flat with the national 4.1%. Professional and Business Services expanded 6.6% year-over-year through July, suggesting the coastal economy is broadening beyond its traditional hospitality and gaming base at a moment when national hiring has slowed to 29,000 jobs added in September and government payrolls are contracting.
What it means
Wage growth outpacing national inflation locally is consistent with a tightening coastal labor supply rather than runaway demand, a distinction that matters for commerce leaders weighing expansion timing against input-cost assumptions. Mississippi's statewide labor force participation rate of 54.4%, well below the 62.2% national figure, signals that Gulfport-Biloxi employers drawing from this pool face a structurally shallower candidate base than wage trends alone would suggest. Current conditions suggest monitoring whether Professional and Business Services growth reflects durable diversification or a temporary rebuild tied to coastal development activity before treating it as a planning baseline.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Professional and Business Services' 6.6% year-over-year growth is the strongest sector signal in the metro; next quarter's data will show whether this is a sustained trend or a one-time rebuild.
Emerging pressure point: Mississippi's labor force participation sits at a two-year low of 55.2% statewide. If the Gulfport-Biloxi metro mirrors this trend, it constrains how much local economic growth can occur without in-migration or participation gains.
Potential inflection point: National nonfarm payrolls grew just 29,000 in September with downward revisions to July and August. Watch whether Mississippi's record August employment level (1,199,800 jobs) holds through fall reporting or begins reflecting the national slowdown.
Early indicator: Manufacturing led Mississippi's WARN filings this year (8 notices, 596 workers), concentrated outside the coastal metro so far. Continued manufacturing investment signals like Hitachi Energy's announcement are worth tracking against this layoff backdrop for sector-level balance.
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.
Free to read and cite with attribution to WageScape. Terms of use.