Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Lebanon, PA MSA — October 2026
Lebanon's trades gain pay as caregiving and manufacturing pay slip.
Lebanon metro unemployment held near 3.6%, matching Pennsylvania's statewide rate, as construction laborer and HVAC technician advertised pay rose significantly while CNA/home health aide pay fell significantly.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Lebanon metro unemployment: 3.6% — June 2026, matches PA's Sept. statewide rate
- Pennsylvania unemployment vs. US: 3.6% vs 4.2% — 29th straight month below national rate
- PA civilian labor force: 6,663,000 — Record high, Sept. 2026
- CNA/home health aide pay, metro: $37,440 — Down significantly vs. up moderately nationally
Key takeaways
Lebanon's unemployment edge over the state is narrowing.
Metro unemployment of 3.6% in June matched Pennsylvania's September statewide rate exactly, where historically Lebanon has run near or below the state figure. Convergence suggests the metro is tracking statewide tightening.
Construction and HVAC pay gains point to building-sector momentum locally.
Construction laborer pay rose significantly and HVAC technician pay rose significantly in the metro, both outpacing national trends in the same roles. That combination is consistent with active building or renovation activity feeding demand for skilled trades, a signal commerce leaders can treat as a proxy for local capital investment.
Caregiving and manufacturing pay softness cuts against the state's healthcare growth story.
Pennsylvania's largest year-over-year job gain came in education and health services, yet Lebanon's CNA/home health aide pay fell significantly and manufacturing production worker pay fell moderately. Local softening in two sectors the state highlights as strong suggests metro-specific conditions diverging from the statewide narrative, worth flagging to state economists tracking regional variation.
White-collar pay declines in Lebanon mirror a national pattern of office-sector cooling.
Business analyst and financial analyst advertised pay both fell significantly locally, consistent with national data showing professional and business services shedding jobs in September. Smaller metros without a deep bench of corporate employers may feel this national softening disproportionately in advertised pay even without local layoff announcements.
Median advertised pay by role — Lebanon, PA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $21,674 | $29,247 | $34,222 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $23,920 | $27,194 | $30,944 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,969 | $39,000 | $41,600 | Moderate increase | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $58,209 | $79,838 | $85,576 | Moderate increase | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $31,903 | $33,418 | $35,378 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $36,479 | $41,600 | $42,900 | Significant increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $52,000 | $63,202 | $65,520 | Significant decline | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $35,360 | $37,632 | $39,059 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $33,022 | $43,680 | $48,224 | Significant increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $27,858 | $29,439 | $31,835 | Significant decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $29,683 | $37,440 | $44,579 | Significant decline | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $36,400 | $41,600 | $44,720 | Moderate increase | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $58,051 | $71,760 | $71,760 | Significant increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $83,466 | $94,837 | $104,994 | Stable | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer * | $110,608 | $147,944 | $163,854 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $95,022 | $132,644 | $136,781 | Stable | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $57,200 | $67,598 | $72,174 | Significant increase | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $66,581 | $71,410 | $82,757 | Moderate decline | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $48,880 | $67,580 | $80,000 | Moderate increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $49,487 | $62,500 | $70,265 | Stable | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,204 | $85,277 | $98,803 | Moderate increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $33,280 | $47,326 | $54,678 | Moderate decline | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $45,000 | $63,534 | $88,252 | Moderate increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $52,917 | $72,500 | $80,000 | Moderate decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $71,885 | $71,885 | $78,628 | Significant decline | $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 | $54,580 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $53,637 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $34,661 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $49,033 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $43,160 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $48,328 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $39,585 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $54,230 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,579 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,210 | Stable | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Lebanon metro unemployment sat at 3.6% as of the most recent confirmed reading, down six-tenths of a point from a year earlier and tracking Pennsylvania's broader tightening — the state posted a 3.6% rate in September before improving further, its lowest since 2023 and 29th consecutive month below the national rate. Diverse local anchors — Farmers Pride in agriculture, Walmart and retail, WellSpan Health and Good Samaritan Hospital in healthcare, Lebanon Valley College and area school districts in education — give the metro's 73,000-74,000 labor force exposure across sectors where state data shows education and health services leading job growth statewide.
What it means
Metro-level wage data shows a mixed advertised-pay picture, measured by job ads, which track hiring demand and often cover several openings each — customer service and skilled trades like HVAC and construction labor posting significant local gains, while manufacturing production work, CNA/home health aide roles, and financial analyst positions show significant declines — pointing to uneven demand across the metro's economic base. That divergence, paired with Pennsylvania's broader finding that nominal wage growth statewide trails inflation, points to a local business climate where labor costs are rising selectively in trades and services even as some white-collar and caregiving fields soften. Commerce leaders and economic development officials should consider tracking which sectors are absorbing cost pressure locally before drawing conclusions about overall metro health from any single indicator.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: Pennsylvania's civilian labor force hit a record high in September while Lebanon's own labor force has held near 73,000-74,000 for some time. Watch whether the state's labor force growth begins showing up in Lebanon's participation figures when more current county-level data is released.
Worth watching: Statewide WARN filings flagged 96 workers affected by a Powered by FTGU action specifically in Lebanon County, part of a broader 162-company, 28,525-worker pattern over 24 months. Confirm whether additional WARN notices surface locally in the next filing cycle, since single-county events can move a labor force this size more than they would move a larger metro.
Expected: Pennsylvania's minimum wage debate remains stalled at $7.25 with no Senate action, while Democratic lawmakers continue pushing a phased increase to $15 by 2029. Commerce leaders should track whether this moves in the state legislature, since Lebanon's lower-wage retail and food service roles would be most exposed to any statutory change.
Early indicator: National job ads data, a signal of hiring demand where one ad often covers several openings, shows AI-related ad share has passed 7% of all job ads, well above the 2022 peak, concentrated in sectors with limited current Lebanon metro presence. Monitor whether software engineer and data engineer advertised pay in the metro — currently stable to up moderately — begins to reflect that national pull.
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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