Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Hinesville-Fort Stewart, GA MSA — October 2026
Hinesville unemployment climbs as Georgia sets records.
Liberty County's unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in June even as Georgia's labor force hit an all-time high of 5.5 million, a divergence local commerce leaders should watch closely.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Liberty County unemployment: 4.1% — Up from 3.4% in April 2026; vs. 3.3% statewide
- Georgia unemployment rate: 3.3% — 0.9 pts below national rate of 4.1%
- Georgia labor force: 5.5 million — All-time high, 9th consecutive record month
- Construction Laborer pay, metro: $44,720 — Up significantly; above $40,727 national median
Key takeaways
Liberty County unemployment is rising while Georgia hits record highs.
County-level unemployment moved from 3.4% in April to 4.1% in June, even as Georgia's labor force and employment set records for a ninth consecutive month. A local economy moving against the state trend deserves closer scrutiny before leaders assume statewide tailwinds apply locally.
Construction and manufacturing pay gains hint at a building-driven local economy.
Construction Laborer pay rose significantly (to a metro median of $44,720, above the national figure) and Manufacturing Production Worker pay rose moderately, both outpacing national trends. This pattern is consistent with infrastructure or base-related construction activity carrying more weight in the local economy than consumer retail or office activity.
Office and service-sector pay softness may signal thinner local demand.
Administrative Assistant, Customer Service Representative, and Teacher pay all fell significantly in the metro while holding stable or rising nationally. Local commerce leaders should consider whether this reflects a smaller, more concentrated private-sector base more than a broader statewide pattern.
Fort Stewart's footprint continues to anchor local economic sensitivity.
Fort Stewart remains Liberty County's largest employer, meaning local labor market swings are more exposed to defense budget and base-level activity than to the private-sector dynamics driving statewide records. Economic development planning should continue to treat diversification beyond military and retail as the central long-term variable.
Median advertised pay by role — Hinesville-Fort Stewart, GA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $21,055 | $30,160 | $37,099 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $23,920 | $27,553 | $30,000 | Moderate decline | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $32,151 | $36,302 | $38,480 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $61,500 | $76,700 | $87,100 | Moderate decline | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $29,082 | $31,603 | $32,420 | Stable | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $34,840 | $44,720 | $62,400 | Significant increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $56,659 | $56,659 | $60,566 | Significant decline | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $34,727 | $35,481 | $36,029 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $30,296 | $31,843 | $32,554 | Significant decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $37,918 | $40,739 | $41,080 | Stable | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $31,200 | $34,014 | $34,320 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $31,200 | $33,682 | $37,876 | Significant decline | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician * | $57,200 | $67,711 | $73,840 | Moderate increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $80,567 | $93,738 | $101,686 | Stable | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer * | $113,585 | $150,217 | $163,776 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer * | $99,106 | $134,539 | $151,343 | Stable | $138,000 |
| Accountant * | $55,164 | $67,218 | $74,480 | Stable | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst * | $66,935 | $90,889 | $97,590 | Stable | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $60,986 | $61,041 | $70,000 | Moderate increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $45,966 | $58,500 | $70,334 | Stable | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager | $76,992 | $76,993 | $88,149 | Stable | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $25,155 | $43,761 | $62,400 | Significant decline | $55,908 |
| Account Manager * | $64,644 | $90,000 | $106,500 | Moderate increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $57,500 | $82,500 | $95,500 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $80,000 | $96,515 | $107,358 | Stable | $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 | $82,935 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $74,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $36,359 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $62,521 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Information | $52,294 | Significant increase | Stable |
| Financial Activities | $44,720 | Moderate decline | Stable |
| Professional & Business Services | $43,680 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $57,000 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $28,240 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,454 | Stable | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Liberty County's unemployment rate climbed to 4.1% in June 2026 from 3.4% in April, moving further above both the Georgia rate of 3.3% and reflecting the metro's continued concentration around Fort Stewart and a narrow base of large private employers including SNF Holding Company, Target, and Walmart. Advertised pay across several widely posted local roles — Customer Service Representative, Electrician, Administrative Assistant, and Teacher — moved down significantly this month even as construction labor and manufacturing production pay rose, a divergence consistent with a metro economy still anchored to military and public-sector activity, with limited signs yet of broad-based private-sector expansion.
What it means
Divergence between a rising Liberty County unemployment rate and Georgia's record statewide labor force growth suggests Hinesville's economic trajectory is decoupling from the state's momentum, a signal commerce leaders and economic development officials should weigh before citing statewide strength as a proxy for local conditions. Significant pay declines in office and service roles alongside gains in construction and manufacturing point to a local economy reallocating toward production and building trades, which may reflect base-adjacent construction activity or public infrastructure work more than consumer-facing growth. Current conditions suggest local officials and chambers should track whether Liberty County's unemployment uptick persists through Q3 data before drawing conclusions about the metro's standing relative to the state's historic labor force expansion.
Looking ahead
Expected release: BLS county and MSA-level data for July through September 2026 should post in November, which will clarify whether Liberty County's unemployment rise through June was a blip or a sustained trend diverging from Georgia's statewide strength.
Worth watching: Georgia's state and local government hiring gains (3,300 local government jobs added statewide in a single month) raise the question of whether Liberty and Long counties are capturing a proportional share, given the metro's existing public-sector weight.
Early indicator: Continued strength in Construction Laborer and Manufacturing Production Worker advertised pay locally may point to a near-term uptick in building or production activity; a sustained rise over the next two months would support an expansion narrative for commerce leaders assessing local investment conditions.
Potential inflection point: National WARN filings remain elevated (over 3,800 notices through late October) with manufacturing and professional services most affected nationally and in Georgia; Liberty County's limited manufacturing base means local exposure is lower, but any new WARN filings in the broader Hinesville-Fort Stewart MSA would be an early signal worth flagging to local economic development officials.
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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