Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA — October 2026
LA unemployment hits post-2023 low as payrolls shrink
Los Angeles County's jobless rate fell to 4.8% in September, its lowest since 2023, even as total nonfarm payrolls dropped by 4,100 jobs and entertainment-sector employment fell by 3,800.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- LA County unemployment rate: 4.8% — Down from 5.0% in August; first sub-5% since 2023
- LA County nonfarm payroll change: -4,100 jobs — Aug-to-Sept 2026, despite falling unemployment
- Healthcare/education job gains: +14,200 — Only major sector with sizable September growth
- LA County avg. weekly wage: $1,721 — vs. $1,654 national average, Q1 2026
Key takeaways
Below-5% unemployment masks a shrinking payroll base.
Los Angeles County's jobless rate improvement coincided with a 4,100-job monthly decline in total nonfarm employment, consistent with workers exiting the labor force during a period without a broad hiring upswing. Commerce and policy leaders should treat the headline rate as incomplete without the participation context.
Healthcare is the one sector carrying the metro's job growth.
Private education and health services added 14,200 positions between August and September, the only sector posting a gain of that scale, while entertainment and food services both contracted sharply. A single-sector growth engine signals concentration risk for the broader local economy.
Entertainment sector contraction compounds an existing structural strain.
Motion pictures and sound recording shed 3,500 jobs locally in September, adding to a sector already contending with production shifts and streaming economics. Given the industry's historic multiplier effect on hospitality, retail, and services spending in Los Angeles, continued softness here warrants closer tracking than its headline size suggests.
Wage levels outpace the nation, but real purchasing power is uncertain.
Los Angeles County's $1,721 average weekly wage beats the national $1,654 average, yet national data show median earnings rising just 1.5% against 3.5% CPI growth over the same period. Local wage data without a matching regional CPI comparison leaves a gap in understanding actual household spending capacity.
Median advertised pay by role — Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $35,360 | $39,850 | $42,692 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $34,788 | $38,877 | $41,600 | Moderate increase | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $36,523 | $41,600 | $43,680 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $59,772 | $77,512 | $83,810 | Moderate increase | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $34,837 | $37,392 | $43,414 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $37,854 | $44,720 | $48,880 | Significant increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $61,130 | $75,985 | $83,200 | Moderate increase | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $37,170 | $43,160 | $46,800 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $38,865 | $44,720 | $48,880 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $36,400 | $44,110 | $50,752 | Stable | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $42,640 | $46,800 | $50,096 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $41,600 | $50,960 | $57,200 | Moderate increase | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $62,400 | $76,611 | $84,905 | Moderate increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $99,388 | $121,081 | $132,600 | Moderate increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $121,086 | $160,321 | $180,000 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $99,987 | $145,289 | $159,264 | Stable | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $63,512 | $78,114 | $87,500 | Moderate increase | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $78,776 | $100,928 | $110,000 | Stable | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $64,574 | $80,460 | $89,147 | Moderate increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $50,452 | $70,000 | $77,652 | Moderate increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager | $82,500 | $115,000 | $150,000 | Moderate decline | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $44,464 | $61,591 | $72,121 | Moderate increase | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $70,000 | $95,000 | $116,381 | Moderate increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager | $74,500 | $97,942 | $121,428 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $83,312 | $99,738 | $114,400 | Stable | $98,302 |
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 | $91,000 | Moderate increase | Moderate decline |
| Manufacturing | $117,600 | Significant increase | Moderate decline |
| Retail Trade | $42,952 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $64,036 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
| Information | $99,600 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Financial Activities | $86,146 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Professional & Business Services | $85,657 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
| Education & Health Services | $73,004 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $41,600 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Government | $74,539 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
Local market conditions
Los Angeles County's unemployment rate fell to 4.8% in September — its first dip below 5% since 2023 — even as total nonfarm employment contracted by 4,100 jobs month-over-month, a combination that appears to reflect labor force exits alongside job losses in a market with mixed signals. Private education and health services added 14,200 positions, offsetting steep declines in food services (-4,500) and motion pictures and sound recording (-3,500), underscoring a metro economy where healthcare and consumer-facing service contraction are moving in opposite directions simultaneously.
What it means
Falling unemployment alongside shrinking payrolls complicates any straightforward reading of local economic health — commerce leaders evaluating expansion or investment timing should weight the underlying composition (healthcare growth, entertainment and hospitality softness) more heavily than the headline rate alone. Los Angeles County's average weekly wage of $1,721 sits well above the national average of $1,654, yet real wage growth nationally is negative once CPI is factored in, meaning consumer purchasing power locally may be softer than the pay figures suggest. Current conditions suggest monitoring the entertainment sector's contraction closely, given its outsized role in the region's economic identity and downstream effects on hospitality and retail spending.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: Watch whether Los Angeles County's sub-5% unemployment rate holds alongside continued payroll contraction, or whether the two converge. A sustained divergence would point to labor force shrinkage as the main driver behind the improved jobless figure.
Emerging pressure point: Information sector job ads, a signal of hiring demand (one ad often covers several openings), remain depressed alongside the 3,800 jobs lost in September, concentrated in motion pictures and sound recording. A multi-month slide here would have ripple effects across the region's hospitality, retail, and services base given the sector's local economic weight.
Worth watching: Statewide WARN filings reached 583 notices covering 65,139 workers through late October, with California-specific filings including Netflix, Fender, and ServiceNow. Track whether Los Angeles-based filings accelerate relative to the state pace, which would signal metro-specific softening beyond the statewide trend.
Expected: Healthcare and education job growth is likely to continue given demographic demand tied to an aging population, a pattern consistent across county, state, and national data this month. Commerce leaders planning around consumer demand should expect this sector to remain the most reliable source of local payroll growth in the near term.
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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