Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: IN NONMETROPOLITAN AREA — September 2026
Rural Indiana's investment wins mask county-level wage divergence.
Pulaski County's 2.7% unemployment and a $215 million Givaudan investment in Dearborn County contrast with wages below the national average in 82 of 83 smaller Indiana counties.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Lowest nonmetro unemployment rate: 2.7% — Pulaski County vs 3.3% statewide, 4.1% national
- County wage gap: $742 vs $1,695/week — Brown County low vs Martin County high
- Local government fiscal confidence: 18.6% — Rate excellent/very good, down from 31.3% in 2025
- Indiana labor force participation: 63% — Down from 63.1%, vs 61.6% national
Key takeaways
Rural Indiana's low unemployment masks wide wage dispersion.
Pulaski, Wells and Boone counties post unemployment well under the state average, yet 82 of 83 smaller counties still report wages below the national benchmark, with a more than $950 weekly gap between the highest- and lowest-paid counties. Tight labor availability in some counties may not translate into matching wage pressure, a sign that labor supply and wage growth are decoupling in parts of the rural economy.
Capital investment is landing in specific sectors, not broadly.
Givaudan's $215 million Dearborn County facility and the state's 570 new high-wage jobs in advanced manufacturing, agbioscience and defense represent targeted, named commitments rather than economy-wide hiring momentum. Commerce leaders evaluating business climate should weigh these wins against softer advertised-pay trends in warehouse management (down significantly) and marketing roles (down moderately) that suggest uneven momentum across the broader basket.
Local government financial confidence is eroding faster than labor data suggests.
Only 18.6% of local government leaders rated their financial situation excellent to very good in 2026, down from 31.3% a year earlier, even as statewide unemployment sits near a three-year low. That divergence may suggest fiscal pressure on public-sector budgets is building independent of labor market tightness, a signal relevant to public-sector stability discussions distinct from private hiring trends.
Statewide participation softness bears watching at the county level.
Indiana's labor force participation rate slipped to 63% in August from 63.1%, continuing a 12-month decline of 0.8 points even though the rate remains above the national 61.6%. Sustained erosion in labor force participation, if it persists in nonmetro counties, could narrow the labor pool available to support announced investment projects over time.
Median advertised pay by role — IN NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $20,800 | $26,451 | $30,160 | Moderate decline | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $23,289 | $26,000 | $27,924 | Moderate decline | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $30,923 | $35,044 | $38,480 | Moderate decline | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $57,200 | $75,790 | $88,000 | Moderate decline | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $26,728 | $30,916 | $33,760 | Moderate decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $33,558 | $40,040 | $42,640 | Moderate increase | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $59,443 | $70,720 | $72,800 | Significant increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $33,626 | $37,774 | $42,500 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $32,185 | $37,440 | $40,185 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $27,040 | $29,009 | $30,160 | Stable | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $33,170 | $36,321 | $39,660 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $31,200 | $38,610 | $41,600 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $54,080 | $66,560 | $74,880 | Stable | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $78,520 | $89,438 | $98,046 | Moderate increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $86,800 | $129,191 | $135,695 | Stable | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $89,883 | $102,762 | $119,600 | Significant decline | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $53,394 | $67,073 | $74,091 | Moderate increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $66,269 | $78,219 | $87,952 | Significant decline | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $57,460 | $69,490 | $77,108 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $38,116 | $49,288 | $62,659 | Moderate decline | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $72,499 | $81,721 | $90,187 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $32,240 | $49,518 | $55,227 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $35,143 | $63,484 | $85,000 | Significant decline | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $63,750 | $65,401 | $67,500 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $76,671 | $100,518 | $106,603 | 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 | $57,200 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Manufacturing | $72,182 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Retail Trade | $37,940 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $62,000 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Information | $95,450 | Significant decline | Significant decline |
| Financial Activities | $55,000 | Significant decline | Significant decline |
| Professional & Business Services | $47,840 | Significant decline | Significant decline |
| Education & Health Services | $50,966 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,200 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Government | $66,250 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
Local market conditions
Indiana's nonmetro counties show a split economy: Pulaski (2.7%), Wells (2.8%) and Boone (2.9%) counties post unemployment rates well below the state's already-low 3.3%, while wage levels in 82 of 83 smaller counties still trail the national average, with Martin County topping out at $1,695 weekly against Brown County's $742 low. Fresh capital commitments — including Givaudan's $215 million Dearborn County facility and a state-announced 570 new high-wage jobs across advanced manufacturing, agbioscience and defense — point to sector-specific investment momentum even as aggregate rural wage growth remains uneven across counties.
What it means
Wide county-to-county wage and unemployment dispersion suggests nonmetro Indiana is not one labor market but dozens of smaller ones, each responding differently to the same statewide investment announcements — a dynamic that matters for how commerce leaders calibrate expansion or site-location pitches to specific counties rather than the region as a whole. Named investments in manufacturing and agbioscience suggest sector-specific momentum that may not translate evenly to retail, logistics or office-based activity, where metro-level advertised pay for roles like warehouse associate and account manager is trending down. Local chambers and economic development offices should consider tracking county-level wage and participation data alongside statewide averages when assessing whether local business conditions support new investment or expansion commitments.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Whether the Givaudan Dearborn County project and the state's 570 newly announced jobs in advanced manufacturing and agbioscience begin showing up in county-level payroll and wage data over the next two reporting cycles, or remain announcements without visible local effect.
Emerging pressure point: Local government financial confidence fell sharply year over year even as unemployment held near historic lows; watch for budget or service-level strain in nonmetro counties that could affect public-sector stability independent of private labor conditions.
Early indicator: Indiana's labor force participation rate has declined for 12 straight months; a continued slide in nonmetro counties specifically would be a more consequential signal for long-term labor supply than the state's still-favorable national comparison suggests.
Potential inflection point: National nonfarm payrolls grew just 29,000 in September with real wages now trailing inflation (3.0% wage growth vs 3.4% CPI); if that national softening reaches Indiana's manufacturing-heavy nonmetro counties, it would test whether recent investment announcements can offset broader cooling.
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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