Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Mansfield, OH MSA — September 2026
Mansfield jobless rate ticks up as Ohio's masks a shrinking workforce.
Mansfield's unemployment rate rose to a preliminary 3.9% in June from 3.2% in May, even as Ohio's statewide rate fell to 3.3% on labor force exits rather than hiring gains.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Mansfield unemployment rate: 3.9% — Preliminary June 2026, up from 3.2% in May
- Ohio labor force change: -95,000 — Year-over-year decline despite 39,000 more working-age residents
- Mansfield nonfarm payrolls: 51,400 — June 2026, up 600 from May
- Manufacturing production worker pay: $33,856 — Metro median, down moderately vs $39,520 national
Key takeaways
A falling jobless rate may mask shrinking participation, not growth.
Ohio's unemployment rate fell to 3.3% in August even as 95,000 Ohioans left the labor force over the year and employment grew by just 5,000. Mansfield's own rate rose to a preliminary 3.9% in June after a 3.2% May reading, making it worth confirming whether local labor force size is holding or eroding before citing the rate alone as a strength indicator.
Manufacturing's wage signal is softer than its employment signal.
Production remains Mansfield's largest occupational group at 41,650 workers, yet the metro's Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler median advertised pay fell moderately to $33,856, well under the $39,520 national figure. That gap, paired with statewide manufacturing leading WARN filings, suggests margin pressure in the metro's core sector even where headcount stays steady.
Healthcare and skilled trades are the metro's clearest bright spots.
Registered Nurse advertised pay rose significantly to a $98,127 metro median, and Electrician and HVAC Technician pay both moved up moderately, tracking national momentum in hands-on, licensed occupations. These sectors appear to be absorbing local economic demand that manufacturing and clerical work are not.
Local software pay outpacing the national figure is a data point, not yet a trend.
Mansfield's Software Engineer median of $171,000 runs above the $153,652 national figure, an unusual reading for a manufacturing-centered metro of this size. Given small local sample sizes in high-wage technical roles, this likely reflects a handful of postings rather than a broad-based technology employment shift and should be weighted cautiously in any public commentary.
Median advertised pay by role — Mansfield, OH MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $23,714 | $28,496 | $33,277 | Moderate increase | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $23,675 | $25,911 | $29,120 | Stable | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $30,391 | $34,195 | $39,914 | Significant decline | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $61,793 | $81,878 | $93,600 | Moderate decline | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $29,260 | $34,769 | $37,830 | Stable | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $33,115 | $41,009 | $47,840 | Significant increase | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $61,305 | $70,845 | $73,861 | Moderate increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $28,565 | $33,856 | $39,832 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $32,301 | $37,423 | $37,431 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $28,923 | $39,520 | $41,600 | Moderate increase | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $31,250 | $35,880 | $38,480 | Moderate increase | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $32,483 | $36,308 | $37,960 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $58,270 | $68,698 | $81,120 | Moderate increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $83,162 | $98,127 | $108,168 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $150,004 | $171,000 | $182,031 | Significant increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $98,957 | $133,120 | $150,800 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $52,479 | $64,399 | $80,000 | Stable | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $64,820 | $72,450 | $72,450 | Significant increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $50,998 | $51,928 | $60,000 | Moderate decline | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $46,857 | $59,248 | $69,842 | Moderate increase | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,929 | $82,546 | $92,484 | Stable | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $34,000 | $48,918 | $53,242 | Moderate increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $40,307 | $75,547 | $87,500 | Stable | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $52,327 | $67,000 | $67,500 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $79,340 | $96,332 | $107,719 | 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 | $45,760 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $48,880 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $32,864 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $60,283 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $83,892 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $51,141 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $44,720 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $54,348 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $29,120 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,076 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Mansfield's labor force edged up to 52.7 thousand in June 2026 even as its unemployment rate ticked to a preliminary 3.9%, a seasonal softening from May's 3.2% that still leaves the metro below Ohio's 3.3% and well under the national 4.1%. Manufacturing remains the metro's structural anchor — production occupations alone account for 41,650 jobs — but statewide manufacturing WARN activity (23 notices, led by a 1,341-worker reduction at International Motors) and a metro manufacturing production-worker wage decline point to uneven footing beneath the headline stability.
What it means
Mansfield's below-state, below-national unemployment rate reads as resilience, but the same pattern playing out statewide — falling joblessness driven by labor force exit rather than hiring strength — warrants scrutiny before local leaders treat the rate as a growth signal. Manufacturing wage softness alongside strong advertised gains in healthcare (Registered Nurse up significantly) and skilled trades (Electrician, HVAC up moderately) suggests the metro's economic momentum is bifurcating by sector rather than moving uniformly. Current conditions suggest monitoring whether Richland County's labor force participation holds or contracts in step with the statewide trend before drawing conclusions about underlying business-climate strength.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Richland County's civilian labor force count, last at 52.7 thousand in June, holds through the fall reporting cycle or begins contracting in line with the statewide pattern of participation decline.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide manufacturing WARN activity (23 notices in 90 days, led by a 1,341-worker reduction at International Motors) bears watching for any Richland County-specific filings, given manufacturing's outsized share of local employment.
Worth watching: National wage growth has slipped to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation, the weakest real-wage picture since 2021. A comparable squeeze locally would show up first in flat-to-declining advertised pay for retail and warehouse roles, both already soft in Mansfield this month.
Potential inflection point: Ohio's August private-sector job growth (2,100 statewide) lagged the national pace sharply; whether Mansfield's June employment uptick (+600 to 51,400) continues or stalls in upcoming releases will signal whether the metro is tracking state softness or bucking it.
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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