Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: IA NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — September 2026
Iowa holds steady at 3.2% unemployment as workforce quietly shrinks.
Iowa's unemployment rate has held at 3.2% for four straight months even as total employment fell 7,500 below last year's level, with 60,378 openings unfilled statewide.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Iowa unemployment rate: 3.2% — Steady 4 months; vs 4.1% national
- 12-month employment change: -9,500 jobs (-0.6%) — Ranks 46th nationally for job growth
- Statewide job openings: 60,378 — Unfilled despite near-zero net job growth
- Labor force participation: 67.0% — 3rd-highest among states, July 2026
Key takeaways
Iowa's labor market is tight by attachment, not by growth.
A 3.2% unemployment rate sits well below the 4.1% national figure, yet Iowa has shed 9,500 jobs over twelve months, ranking 46th nationally for job growth. Low unemployment here reflects workers leaving the labor force, not robust hiring demand.
Retirement outflows look like the real constraint on local capacity.
The sharpest labor-force decline is concentrated among 45-54 year-olds, and state data attribute the drop to retirement rather than displacement. That demographic pattern, not layoffs, is the more durable headwind for nonmetro Iowa's growth capacity.
Healthcare and construction are the only sectors with real traction.
Healthcare and social assistance added 5,700 jobs and construction 3,200 over the year, while trade and transportation shed 5,200 combined. A narrowing base of growth sectors concentrates local economic momentum in fewer hands.
A $2.1 billion UI trust balance is a quiet stability signal.
Low claims volume has funded the lowest possible employer UI tax rate for 2027, a technical but real cost advantage for Iowa businesses operating in nonmetro counties. It reflects an economy with low churn, consistent with the retirement-driven rather than layoff-driven story above.
Median advertised pay by role — IA NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $20,637 | $27,026 | $30,160 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $24,960 | $27,397 | $30,160 | Moderate decline | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $32,262 | $37,440 | $39,520 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $56,453 | $76,500 | $85,901 | Stable | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $26,848 | $31,056 | $34,291 | Moderate decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $34,411 | $41,600 | $47,468 | Moderate decline | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $57,358 | $69,387 | $73,091 | Significant increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $32,397 | $39,000 | $42,640 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $30,055 | $35,886 | $39,520 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $28,351 | $30,492 | $33,144 | Stable | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $35,726 | $41,344 | $44,640 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $32,822 | $39,030 | $41,517 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $59,376 | $63,500 | $68,236 | Moderate increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $81,704 | $108,630 | $117,703 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $99,500 | $124,379 | $134,355 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $104,948 | $137,948 | $150,253 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $55,000 | $65,148 | $74,363 | Stable | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $66,009 | $76,585 | $87,241 | Significant decline | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $54,808 | $67,500 | $77,413 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $45,053 | $52,607 | $61,202 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $64,060 | $94,296 | $101,538 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $36,258 | $50,233 | $54,902 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $54,003 | $85,000 | $95,658 | Significant increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $52,500 | $60,000 | $60,000 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $76,828 | $91,524 | $95,033 | 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 | $55,000 | Moderate increase | Stable |
| Manufacturing | $61,839 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Retail Trade | $40,995 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $60,320 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Information | $79,295 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Financial Activities | $58,333 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Professional & Business Services | $52,877 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Education & Health Services | $66,090 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $30,682 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Government | $65,626 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
Local market conditions
Iowa's nonmetropolitan counties track a statewide economy holding at 3.2% unemployment for a fourth straight month, with manufacturing (+1,300 jobs in August) and healthcare offsetting continued softness in trade, transportation, and warehousing. Workforce attachment remains unusually strong by national standards, but total employment is still 7,500 lower than a year ago as retirements among 45-54 year-olds, rather than layoffs, pull workers out of the labor force.
What it means
Steady unemployment combined with shrinking total employment signals a capacity constraint rather than a demand problem — businesses report 60,378 open positions statewide even as the labor pool contracts, a dynamic that limits how fast local firms can scale operations regardless of local consumer demand. For commerce and economic development leaders, this points toward workforce participation and retiree re-engagement as the more pressing local economic variable than wage levels. Consider monitoring county-level labor force participation alongside job-opening counts to judge whether expansion plans in this market are realistic over the next two quarters.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Trade, transportation, and warehousing lost 5,200 jobs statewide over the year, with transportation alone down 3,300. Whether this stabilizes or deepens over the next two months will shape overall nonmetro job counts given the sector's historic weight in rural Iowa.
Early indicator: WARN notices for 2026 are down 58% from 2025 in affected workers, but recent filings (Sioux City sanitation and meat processing closures, Forest City manufacturing cuts) suggest localized disruption persists even amid a calmer statewide trend.
Potential inflection point: Labor force participation rose to third-highest among states in July, a reversal worth tracking against the retirement-driven employment declines — any resumption of participation growth would ease the capacity constraint facing local employers.
Expected: The 2027 unemployment insurance tax rate reduction, funded by the $2.1 billion trust balance, takes effect for Iowa employers in the new year — a modest but tangible operating-cost tailwind for the local business climate.
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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