Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Ithaca, NY MSA — September 2026
Ithaca unemployment climbs faster than state, nation this summer.
Ithaca MSA unemployment rose from 3.3% in May to 4.2% in August, outpacing New York's 4.3% and the national 4.1%, while metro wages still trail the national average by roughly $250 a week.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Ithaca MSA unemployment rate: 4.2% — Up from 3.3% in May 2026
- National unemployment rate: 4.1% — Ithaca now tracking above national rate
- Ithaca average weekly wage: $1,405 — vs. $1,654 national (Q1 2026)
- 5-year metro job growth: -5.3% — vs. +4.7% national growth through 2024
Key takeaways
Unemployment rose faster here than at the state or national level.
Ithaca MSA's jump from 3.3% in May to 4.2% in August outpaces New York State's more gradual decline to 4.3% and the national rate holding at 4.1%. Divergence from the state trend may signal metro-specific softening rather than a shared regional pattern.
Wage levels still lag the nation despite isolated local gains.
Average weekly wages of $1,405 remain roughly 15% below the national figure of $1,654, even as select advertised-pay categories like manufacturing and construction labor show local increases. A persistently low wage base limits the purchasing power gains that would normally accompany national wage growth trends.
Five-year job growth has been negative while the nation expanded.
Ithaca's -5.3% five-year job growth contrasts with 4.7% national growth, a structural gap predating this month's unemployment uptick. This pattern is consistent with a metro economy that has not fully participated in the national hiring cycle of the past several years.
Education and health institutions remain the stabilizing anchor.
Roughly 25,000 jobs sit within Education and Health Services, tied to Cornell University and area health systems, a concentration that likely insulates the metro from sharper swings seen in finance or information nationally. Reliance on a narrow anchor sector, however, leaves less cushion if either institution faces budget pressure.
Median advertised pay by role — Ithaca, NY MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $31,787 | $35,264 | $37,440 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $33,280 | $37,440 | $38,896 | Moderate increase | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $36,136 | $40,040 | $43,680 | Moderate increase | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $59,119 | $83,200 | $94,550 | Moderate increase | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $32,993 | $34,843 | $39,520 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $40,666 | $43,704 | $49,920 | Significant increase | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $56,196 | $69,484 | $77,828 | Significant increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $43,680 | $54,610 | $54,610 | Significant increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $33,436 | $37,960 | $40,560 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $34,545 | $37,286 | $39,520 | Significant decline | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $44,200 | $50,346 | $54,834 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $38,250 | $52,468 | $58,240 | Significant increase | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $72,800 | $72,800 | $72,800 | Stable | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $91,268 | $117,407 | $128,039 | Moderate increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $80,054 | $144,303 | $170,000 | Significant increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $97,593 | $120,329 | $161,332 | Significant decline | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $62,000 | $63,500 | $65,363 | Significant decline | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst * | $72,517 | $94,295 | $102,336 | Moderate increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $59,280 | $65,000 | $65,520 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $45,760 | $59,470 | $70,614 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,000 | $85,960 | $100,600 | Moderate decline | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $38,498 | $58,000 | $65,750 | Moderate decline | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $68,636 | $80,000 | $88,750 | Moderate increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $47,232 | $62,774 | $75,021 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $110,528 | $110,528 | $110,528 | Significant 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 | $81,380 | Significant increase | Moderate increase |
| Manufacturing | $98,130 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $37,440 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $43,205 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $55,233 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $108,250 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $62,400 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $55,746 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $39,520 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,744 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Ithaca MSA unemployment climbed to 4.2% in August 2026, up nearly a full point from 3.3% in May, a faster deterioration than the state's steadier 4.3% rate and the national 4.1% reading over the same window. Average weekly wages in the metro remain well below national levels ($1,405 vs. $1,654) even as five-year local job growth has run negative 5.3% against 4.7% national growth, consistent with a regional economy anchored by Cornell University and regional health institutions but structurally slower to add positions than peer metros.
What it means
Rising local unemployment alongside wages that trail the national median suggests the metro's labor market has more slack than the statewide or national headline figures imply, a dynamic relevant to how commerce leaders read local consumer demand and how economic development officials pitch the metro to prospective employers. Public-sector and Education & Health Services stability — anchored by Cornell and major health systems — appears to be cushioning the broader slowdown rather than reversing it. Current conditions suggest commerce and government stakeholders evaluate local business-climate messaging against the unemployment trajectory rather than static point-in-time comparisons, since the direction of change (3.3% to 4.2% in three months) is more informative than the level itself.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: Watch whether September's unemployment reading, due from NYS DOL in October, confirms the May-to-August upward trend or marks a plateau. A continued climb would strengthen the case that local softening is structural rather than seasonal.
Worth watching: No WARN notices or plant actions specific to the Ithaca MSA have surfaced this month, unusual given statewide activity concentrated in healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation. Absence of local filings is itself a data point worth confirming as official Q3 figures post.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide labor force participation has been declining (61.5% to 61.3% in July), and local participation trends bear watching given the metro's unemployment rise could reflect either job losses or workers exiting the labor force entirely — each implies a different local economic story.
Early indicator: National wage-vs-inflation data (3.0% wage growth against 3.4% inflation) raises the question of whether Ithaca's already-below-national wage base compounds local purchasing-power pressure. Track Q3 BLS wage figures for the metro when released to see if the gap narrows or widens.
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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