Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Jacksonville, FL MSA — October 2026
Jacksonville's jobless rate falls as payrolls shrink beneath it.
Jacksonville unemployment dropped to 4.5% in September even as nonfarm payrolls fell by 1,600, a divergence that suggests labor-force exits are driving the improving rate more than hiring strength.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Jacksonville unemployment rate: 4.5% — Down from 4.8% in August, up from 4.4% a year ago
- Jacksonville nonfarm payrolls: -1,600 — Month-over-month decline, Aug to Sept 2026
- Florida unemployment rate: 4.4% — Fourth straight monthly decline, still above US 4.1%
- Jacksonville-area WARN layoffs: 1,223 workers — 14 notices across 2025-2026, multiple sectors
Key takeaways
Jacksonville's falling jobless rate hides a payroll contraction.
Unemployment dropped three-tenths of a point in September while nonfarm jobs fell by 1,600 — a divergence that points to fewer people in the labor force alongside softer hiring demand. Press and economists citing the improving rate should pair it with the payroll figure to avoid overstating momentum.
Layoff notices span sectors across the metro economy.
WARN filings this year have hit logistics, manufacturing and office services (Builders FirstSource, Enkei America, Pitney Bowes, Mittera), totaling 1,223 workers across 14 notices in 2025-2026. Breadth across sectors is more informative for metro-wide business-climate reads than any single filing.
Health and hospitality remain the metro's job-growth engine.
Education and health services added 4,300 jobs over the year and leisure and hospitality 1,400, the two strongest categories in an otherwise flat Jacksonville labor market. Advertised pay for registered nurses is up moderately to a $86,979 metro median, consistent with sustained demand in the sector.
Construction pay gains outpace the metro's broader wage picture.
Construction laborer advertised pay rose to a $41,600 metro median, a significant year-over-year increase that slightly exceeds the national figure, while statewide data shows just 6% of young adults interested in trades work and 41% of the construction workforce expected to retire by 2031. Local economic development planning around infrastructure or housing projects should account for this tightening supply pipeline.
Median advertised pay by role — Jacksonville, FL MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $26,870 | $32,240 | $35,606 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $26,495 | $30,610 | $32,206 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,200 | $35,955 | $38,255 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $54,341 | $77,583 | $87,500 | Moderate increase | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $30,888 | $33,896 | $40,034 | Stable | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $33,280 | $41,600 | $44,720 | Significant increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $54,565 | $62,742 | $69,550 | Stable | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $32,367 | $37,440 | $40,560 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $33,823 | $38,550 | $42,640 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $28,474 | $31,200 | $31,720 | Stable | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $32,674 | $36,400 | $38,480 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $34,758 | $41,600 | $44,720 | Moderate increase | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $57,200 | $65,443 | $73,174 | Moderate decline | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $75,529 | $86,979 | $94,435 | Moderate increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $113,618 | $139,240 | $154,757 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $98,901 | $131,179 | $142,974 | Stable | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $59,226 | $69,202 | $81,663 | Stable | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $70,102 | $85,761 | $95,000 | Moderate decline | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $56,015 | $65,091 | $69,303 | Stable | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $50,324 | $66,085 | $76,800 | Moderate increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager | $55,736 | $68,723 | $81,944 | Stable | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $34,336 | $49,250 | $53,899 | Moderate increase | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $64,480 | $87,500 | $100,000 | Moderate increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $56,465 | $69,940 | $75,000 | Moderate decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $81,338 | $99,362 | $107,120 | Moderate increase | $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 | $61,450 | Moderate decline | Moderate decline |
| Manufacturing | $73,642 | Moderate increase | Moderate increase |
| Retail Trade | $36,306 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $61,500 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $74,714 | Significant increase | Moderate decline |
| Financial Activities | $75,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $63,354 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $53,153 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $33,280 | Stable | Moderate decline |
| Government | $64,168 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
Local market conditions
Jacksonville's unemployment rate fell to 4.5% in September, down from 4.8% in August, yet nonfarm payrolls contracted by 1,600 over the same month — a pattern consistent with labor-force shrinkage amid flat demand-driven tightening. Layoff activity has picked up across a cross-section of the metro economy, with WARN filings this year touching logistics (Builders FirstSource, 82 workers), manufacturing (Enkei America, 62) and office/print services (Pitney Bowes, 337; Mittera, 100), even as education, health services and leisure and hospitality continue adding jobs.
What it means
Falling unemployment paired with shrinking payrolls signals a metro economy rebalancing from labor-force exits amid muted expansion on new demand, a distinction that matters for anyone reading the headline rate as a growth signal. Commerce leaders weighing expansion or relocation decisions should treat the 4.5% rate alongside the payroll contraction as a package, since availability of workers may remain tighter than the unemployment figure alone implies; government economists tracking workforce participation should watch whether exits are demographic (retirement, caregiving) or discouragement-driven, as the two carry different policy implications. Current conditions suggest reviewing sector-level payroll trends alongside the topline rate before characterizing local momentum as either accelerating or cooling.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Jacksonville's payroll count stabilizes or continues contracting in the October and November BLS releases; a second consecutive monthly decline would weaken the case that the falling unemployment rate reflects a healthy rebalancing.
Worth watching: Track whether workers displaced by Pitney Bowes, Builders FirstSource, Enkei America and Mittera layoffs appear in job ads data, a signal of hiring demand (one ad often covers several openings), for logistics, manufacturing and office-support roles in surrounding counties, which would indicate the metro is absorbing this talent.
Emerging pressure point: Construction labor supply — already strained by an aging workforce and low youth interest in trades — intersects with immigration enforcement activity nationally; commerce and economic development leaders should monitor regional building-permit and construction-employment data for signs of project delays tied to labor availability.
Potential inflection point: Florida's minimum wage rose to $15.00 on September 30; watch Jacksonville retail and food-service advertised pay (currently $30,610-$32,240 median for cashiers and sales associates) over the next two reporting cycles for any compression effects or employer adjustment patterns.
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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