Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC MSA — September 2026
Hickory's labor force shrinks even as wages lead the state.
Catawba County's wages grew 6.4% year-over-year — fastest among North Carolina's 14 largest counties — while the metro's labor force fell from 166.5 thousand to 162.3 thousand between May and August 2026.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro labor force change: 166.5K → 162.3K — May to August 2026, continuing long-term decline
- Catawba County wage growth: +6.4% YoY — Top of NC's 14 largest counties, Q3 2025
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.5% — vs 4.1% U.S., 3.5% NC statewide, Aug 2026
- Metro avg weekly wage: $1,120 — vs $1,459 national average
Key takeaways
Labor force is shrinking faster than jobs are disappearing.
The metro's civilian labor force fell by roughly 4,200 people between May and August even as unemployment held near 3.5%, consistent with people leaving the labor force rather than losing jobs. That distinction matters for any read on economic capacity — a tight labor market here reflects supply scarcity, not demand weakness.
Catawba County wage growth outpaces every large NC county.
Catawba's +6.4% year-over-year wage growth in Q3 2025 topped all 14 of the state's largest counties, even though its $1,120 average weekly wage still trails the $1,459 national figure by nearly 25%. Rapid percentage growth off a lower base signals catch-up dynamics, not necessarily overheating.
Manufacturing investment announcements cut against the labor-supply story.
Corning and American Fuji Seal combined are advancing over $220M in local investment and roughly 233 announced positions at Trivium Corporate Center, even as the broader labor force has fallen by 1,750 people over the year. Whether these projects draw idle workers back in or compete for an already-thin pool is the open question for local economic capacity.
Construction and delivery pay softness diverges from the state's gains.
Metro construction laborer pay is down moderately and delivery driver pay down significantly even as North Carolina added 2,100 construction jobs statewide in August. Localized softness in blue-collar advertised pay, against statewide sector growth, may suggest Hickory's construction and logistics activity is lagging the state's broader momentum rather than tracking it.
Median advertised pay by role — Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $22,117 | $27,040 | $29,718 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $22,880 | $25,075 | $26,724 | Moderate decline | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,210 | $35,360 | $37,440 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $55,972 | $78,000 | $88,400 | Stable | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $29,120 | $31,588 | $33,107 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $30,303 | $35,360 | $39,427 | Moderate decline | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $56,160 | $64,480 | $68,835 | Significant increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $32,063 | $36,135 | $38,480 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $32,836 | $37,682 | $38,713 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $27,956 | $29,652 | $31,720 | Moderate increase | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $32,404 | $36,400 | $39,663 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $31,931 | $37,409 | $40,560 | Moderate decline | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $72,413 | $72,800 | $72,800 | Significant increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $81,439 | $100,614 | $107,340 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $166,433 | $167,621 | $185,955 | Stable | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $100,467 | $126,436 | $140,869 | Stable | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $58,179 | $67,366 | $73,282 | Moderate increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $73,188 | $93,069 | $97,660 | Moderate decline | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $57,200 | $72,448 | $77,071 | Moderate decline | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $50,000 | $62,593 | $77,500 | Significant increase | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $63,665 | $83,364 | $89,626 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $32,237 | $47,499 | $51,576 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $39,669 | $63,102 | $81,501 | Moderate increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $51,195 | $59,000 | $81,142 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $72,227 | $87,748 | $93,866 | 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 | $48,420 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $72,106 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $35,796 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $52,500 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $67,500 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $55,644 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $54,080 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $60,320 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $29,120 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,524 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton's civilian labor force contracted from 166.5 thousand in May to 162.3 thousand by August, a structural decline that predates this year and reflects slowing population growth rather than a sudden hiring pullback. Against that shrinking base, Catawba County posted the strongest wage growth of North Carolina's 14 largest counties in Q3 2025 at +6.4% year-over-year, even as metro average weekly wages of roughly $1,120 remain nearly $340 below the national average — a combination that points to a tightening but still comparatively low-wage labor market.
What it means
Shrinking labor force alongside above-average wage growth signals a metro where the constraint on economic expansion is increasingly workers, not demand — a dynamic commerce leaders should factor into any read on local business capacity. Named capital commitments, including Corning's $170-$267.9M expansion adding 132 jobs and American Fuji Seal's $52M, 101-job project, suggest investors still see Hickory as viable for production-scale growth despite the labor force headwind. Current conditions suggest economic development leaders track whether these announced projects translate into realized hiring within the shrinking labor pool, or whether they draw workers from neighboring counties and commuting patterns shift as a result.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: Watch whether Corning's expanded investment and American Fuji Seal's $52M project begin showing up in actual payroll counts over the next two reporting cycles, not just announcements. Realized hiring against a labor force that fell to 162.3 thousand would be the clearest test of whether capital commitments can still clear a tightening local labor supply.
Worth watching: North Carolina's statewide labor force participation rate sits at 57.8%, tied for 45th nationally and down 1.6 points year-over-year; any further Hickory-specific participation data will clarify whether the metro is dragging the statewide figure down or tracking it.
Emerging pressure point: Truist's announced 253 layoffs across North Carolina as part of a $5.5B strategic pivot bears watching for any Hickory-area exposure, given the metro's financial-activities sector already shed 600 jobs statewide in August.
Early indicator: Immigration enforcement activity has been cited statewide as disproportionately affecting agriculture and construction labor supply; Hickory's construction laborer pay softness is consistent with, though not proof of, that broader pattern and warrants continued bare-fact tracking rather than attribution.
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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