Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Manhattan, KS MSA — September 2026
Manhattan unemployment climbs past state and national rates.
Riley County unemployment rose from 2.9% in April to 4.3% in July, pushing the metro's preliminary 4.5% August rate above both the 3.8% Kansas and 4.1% national figures, even as warehouse pay jumped to $41,600.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 4.5% — vs 3.8% Kansas, 4.1% U.S. (Aug 2026, preliminary)
- Riley County unemployment trend: 2.9% → 4.3% — April to July 2026 rise
- Kansas WARN activity: 0 notices — Trailing 90 days as of Sept 25, 2026
- Warehouse/fulfillment pay: $41,600 — vs $38,000 national median, up significantly
Key takeaways
Metro unemployment rose faster than the state and nation.
Riley County unemployment climbed from 2.9% in April to 4.3% in July, and the metro's preliminary August rate of 4.5% now sits above both the 3.8% Kansas rate and the 4.1% national rate. That inversion — a university-anchored metro trailing the state it normally outperforms — is worth tracking as more than a seasonal blip.
Logistics and food service are the metro's bright spots.
Warehouse/fulfillment pay rose significantly to a metro median of $41,600, well above the $38,000 national figure, and food service pay rose significantly to $40,653 versus $33,756 nationally. Both outpacing national medians by wide margins suggests localized demand pressure in distribution and hospitality capacity, a signal commerce leaders can treat as a current strength even as headline unemployment softens.
Skilled trades pay is retreating even as national trades pay climbs.
Electrician pay fell moderately to $68,214 locally while the national median rose significantly to $71,404; HVAC technician pay moved the same direction, down locally while up nationally. Diverging from the national trend in two trades simultaneously is consistent with softer local construction and facilities activity rather than a national trades slowdown reaching Manhattan.
Professional-services pay is splitting, not uniformly declining.
Accountant and marketing specialist pay rose significantly locally, while account manager pay fell significantly to $65,000, well under the $92,749 national median. Uneven direction within the same professional-services basket suggests firm-level or sector-specific dynamics rather than a broad local retreat from office-based work.
Median advertised pay by role — Manhattan, KS MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $23,238 | $28,880 | $33,280 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $24,375 | $29,120 | $31,200 | Moderate increase | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $33,387 | $41,600 | $43,680 | Significant increase | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $57,884 | $83,980 | $94,226 | Moderate increase | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $25,654 | $31,974 | $33,280 | Moderate decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $35,360 | $41,699 | $44,720 | Moderate decline | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $55,081 | $68,214 | $72,800 | Moderate decline | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $33,540 | $39,520 | $39,520 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $28,827 | $35,360 | $38,480 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $29,120 | $40,653 | $40,654 | Significant increase | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $31,914 | $38,219 | $41,797 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $35,217 | $40,000 | $45,760 | Moderate decline | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $52,284 | $66,475 | $81,120 | Moderate decline | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $75,226 | $89,827 | $97,188 | Stable | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer * | $114,831 | $152,958 | $171,327 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $89,113 | $125,634 | $141,929 | Stable | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $45,760 | $62,400 | $64,936 | Significant increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst * | $70,000 | $88,095 | $102,977 | Significant increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $53,040 | $67,500 | $67,500 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $45,973 | $65,000 | $84,393 | Significant increase | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $49,925 | $73,000 | $75,000 | Significant increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $26,000 | $44,052 | $54,173 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $35,040 | $65,000 | $71,976 | Significant decline | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $66,655 | $69,791 | $78,511 | No data | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $73,248 | $87,080 | $96,751 | Moderate 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 | $54,014 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $42,723 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $36,391 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $43,680 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Information | $70,194 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $45,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $41,600 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $71,760 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $33,280 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $63,229 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Manhattan MSA joblessness drifted upward through summer 2026, with Riley County unemployment climbing from 2.9% in April to 4.3% in July and a preliminary metro-wide reading of 4.5% in August, a softening that tracks the national deceleration in payroll growth rather than any single local shock. Wage momentum remains uneven across the metro's basket — warehouse/fulfillment pay up significantly and food service pay up sharply, while electrician, HVAC, and account manager pay have moved down — consistent with a labor market anchored by Kansas State University and Ascension Via Christi but showing softness in trades and professional-services roles typically tied to construction and discretionary business spending.
What it means
Rising local joblessness alongside sector-specific wage divergence suggests the metro's economic engine — university and hospital employment — continues to provide ballast even as cyclical categories like construction-adjacent trades and account management soften, a pattern commerce leaders should read as uneven resilience rather than broad distress. Public-sector and healthcare stability locally mirrors the national split between hands-on sectors gaining ground and white-collar categories losing it, meaning local expansion or investment decisions tied to professional-services demand warrant more caution than those tied to healthcare, logistics, or food-service capacity. Current conditions suggest reviewing local investment or expansion timelines by sector rather than treating the metro's labor market as a single undifferentiated signal.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: September's Kansas Department of Labor report, due October 16, will show whether the Riley County unemployment climb through July continued or reversed. A fourth consecutive monthly rise would mark a trend rather than a summer fluctuation.
Worth watching: Zero WARN notices have been filed in Kansas over the trailing 90 days as of late September, suggesting the metro's unemployment rise is not being driven by mass layoffs. Watch whether that holds, or whether slower national payroll growth (29,000 in September, well below forecast) begins to show up in state filings.
Emerging pressure point: Construction laborer and skilled-trades pay are softening locally while rising nationally, a divergence that may reflect a pause in local building activity. Commerce leaders tracking permits or project starts should watch for confirmation over the next two months.
Early indicator: Kansas statewide labor force participation has fallen 1% year-over-year even as it remains well above the national rate (67.4% versus 61.8% in April). A continued decline, paired with rising metro unemployment, would point to discouraged-worker dynamics rather than simple job-market cooling.
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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