Labor Market Pulse · Human Resources · October 2026
Human Resources Labor Market Report: Johnson City, TN MSA — October 2026
Johnson City's HR roles outpace the market they're hired to track.
Compensation Analyst pay rose to $91,636 and HRIS Analyst to $90,420 in Johnson City, both climbing faster than national medians, even as metro unemployment holds near 3.5% against 4.1% nationally.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Johnson City MSA unemployment: 3.5% — vs 3.4% Tennessee, 4.1% national
- Compensation Analyst advertised pay: $91,636 — Metro up significant; national $100,798 stable
- Tennessee labor force change: -51,100 — Year over year decline since Sept. 2025
- Tennessee WARN notices, 2026 YTD: 6,603 workers — 49 filings through Oct. 20 statewide
Key takeaways
HR and compensation roles are repricing faster than the broader metro.
Compensation Analyst ($91,636), HRIS Analyst ($90,420), and HR Business Partner ($76,615) advertised pay all show significant upward movement locally, outpacing national trends for the same titles. Employers appear to be bidding up internal HR capacity to manage benchmarking and compliance work in a market too tight to coast on legacy pay structures.
Non-compete ban removes a retention tool for most frontline workers.
Tennessee's July 2026 prohibition on non-competes for employees under $70,000 covers the majority of Johnson City's manufacturing, retail, and hospitality workforce. Retention strategy for these roles now rests on pay competitiveness and scheduling flexibility.
Tight local unemployment masks a shrinking labor force.
Johnson City's 3.5% rate looks healthy, but it tracks a statewide pattern where Tennessee's labor force has contracted by 51,100 workers year over year. Low unemployment paired with a shrinking labor pool is consistent with fewer available passive candidates, signaling a constrained supply of job seekers alongside demand.
Recruiter pay lags national levels despite active hiring.
Advertised Recruiter pay in Johnson City sits at $50,761 against a national median of $67,234, even as local HR and hospitality hiring activity continues. Organizations should evaluate whether this gap limits their ability to staff internal recruiting capacity during a period when recruiting skill is most needed.
Median advertised pay by role — Johnson City, TN MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst * | $69,033 | $91,636 | $107,349 | Significant increase | $100,798 |
| HR Business Partner | $56,561 | $76,615 | $80,827 | Significant increase | $83,900 |
| Benefits Manager * | $82,190 | $110,596 | $115,015 | Significant increase | $118,618 |
| HRIS Analyst * | $76,823 | $90,420 | $99,148 | Significant increase | $95,000 |
| HR Coordinator * | $37,793 | $45,760 | $50,409 | Stable | $50,460 |
| Recruiter | $39,981 | $50,761 | $56,874 | Moderate increase | $67,234 |
| Payroll Specialist * | $46,414 | $55,723 | $60,679 | Moderate increase | $61,103 |
* 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
Local market conditions
Johnson City metro unemployment held near 3.5% through mid-2026, a rate tighter than Tennessee's already low 3.4% and well below the national 4.1%, reflecting steady demand in manufacturing, healthcare-adjacent roles, hospitality and municipal government. Advertised hourly pay spans $15-$27.50 across active postings, with Tri-Cities manufacturers, the City of Johnson City, and retail/logistics employers sustaining hiring activity even as statewide labor force participation has contracted by 51,100 workers since last September.
What it means
Metro compensation data shows significant upward movement in professional HR roles — Compensation Analyst, HR Business Partner, and HRIS Analyst postings are all rising faster locally than nationally — suggesting Johnson City employers are competing harder for the talent needed to manage pay equity, systems, and workforce planning amid a shrinking labor pool. Tennessee's July 2026 ban on non-competes below $70,000 adds urgency to retention design, since employers can no longer rely on contractual lock-in for most hourly and early-career staff. Consider reviewing exit-risk roles earning under $70,000 for retention levers beyond contract terms, given both the policy shift and the tightening labor supply.
Looking ahead
Compliance deadline: Tennessee's non-compete threshold took effect in July, but enforcement and litigation patterns are still emerging. HR teams should track whether CRED complaint volume rises as employees test the new $70,000 floor.
Worth watching: Manufacturing employment fell 1.7% statewide over the past year even as Tri-Cities-area facilities like Sam Dong and Siemens Healthineers announce expansions. Watch whether local plant investment offsets the broader state contraction or whether Johnson City manufacturers face the same headwinds.
Early indicator: November's BLS release will bring the first official October metro unemployment figure. A move away from the 3.5% range would be the first real signal of whether national payroll softness (29,000 jobs added in September) is reaching this labor market.
Emerging pressure point: Tennessee WARN filings reached 49 notices affecting 6,603 workers through October, with no Johnson City-area filings reported yet. Continued statewide layoff activity is worth monitoring for signs it reaches Tri-Cities manufacturing or logistics employers.
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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