Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Michigan City-La Porte, IN MSA — October 2026
Michigan City labor force grows as wages fall sharply.
Michigan City-La Porte added workers to its labor force while average hourly earnings dropped 6.6% year-over-year through April 2026, the steepest decline among Indiana's 12 metros, even as county unemployment ticked up to 3.9% in September.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro average hourly earnings change: -6.6% — Apr 2025-Apr 2026, steepest drop among Indiana metros
- La Porte County unemployment rate: 3.9% — September 2026, up from 3.8% in August
- Labor force & employment growth status: 1 of 3 — Indiana metros with YoY labor force and job growth
- County employment change, 2023-2024: -2.14% — 49.6k to 48.6k jobs, La Porte County
Key takeaways
Labor force growth here bucks the statewide contraction trend.
Michigan City-La Porte is one of three Indiana metros where both labor force size and employment rose year-over-year, against a statewide labor force decline of 18,900 workers. That divergence may signal stronger in-migration or return-to-work activity locally than state-level averages suggest, a point worth confirming before using statewide labor tightness narratives to describe this metro.
Wage declines here are an outlier among Indiana metros.
Average hourly earnings fell 6.6% year-over-year through April 2026, the steepest drop among all Indiana metros, while the state and nation report wage growth running below inflation but still positive. Several metro job categories reinforce this pattern, including Certified Nursing Assistant (down, moderate) and Administrative Assistant (down, moderate) against national medians that moved up for both.
Low unemployment may be masking underlying job count softness.
La Porte County employment fell 2.14% from 2023 to 2024 even as the unemployment rate stayed in the mid-3% range, a pattern consistent with workers leaving the labor force or shifting to part-time or informal work even as the headline rate held steady. Commerce leaders citing the headline rate as evidence of a hot local economy should pair it with this underlying employment trend.
Skilled-trade and healthcare pay show the clearest upward signal.
Registered Nurse (up, significant), HVAC Technician (up, significant), and Electrician (up, moderate) advertised pay all moved higher locally, consistent with the metro's reliance on healthcare and skilled manufacturing trades. This bifurcation — strength in trades and healthcare against declines in administrative and care-support roles — suggests the local wage story is sector-specific, concentrated in particular occupations rather than spread evenly across the metro.
Median advertised pay by role — Michigan City-La Porte, IN MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $23,322 | $28,913 | $31,816 | Moderate decline | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $24,960 | $29,021 | $31,073 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,514 | $35,360 | $39,335 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $59,358 | $79,300 | $89,836 | Stable | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $29,750 | $33,280 | $35,360 | Stable | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $36,250 | $41,600 | $43,680 | Moderate increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $64,480 | $74,411 | $86,309 | Moderate increase | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $31,949 | $37,440 | $39,764 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $35,360 | $37,972 | $40,330 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $28,090 | $29,374 | $30,631 | Stable | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $32,665 | $36,321 | $39,520 | Moderate decline | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $32,249 | $39,102 | $41,600 | Moderate decline | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $65,264 | $75,000 | $79,514 | Significant increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $78,775 | $90,122 | $100,294 | Significant increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer * | $103,089 | $142,699 | $158,664 | Significant increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer * | $94,031 | $128,500 | $143,256 | Moderate increase | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $57,188 | $69,732 | $75,875 | Moderate increase | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $72,500 | $78,791 | $87,692 | Moderate decline | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $60,000 | $72,500 | $73,034 | Significant increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $46,090 | $57,438 | $65,633 | Stable | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $77,596 | $83,253 | $92,092 | Moderate increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $31,987 | $47,500 | $48,954 | Stable | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $35,143 | $67,366 | $68,434 | Stable | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $64,250 | $67,500 | $83,285 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $99,250 | $102,403 | $103,257 | Significant increase | $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 | $64,480 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $60,576 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $35,143 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $59,280 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $102,211 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $46,624 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
| Professional & Business Services | $56,215 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $59,834 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,200 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $69,853 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Michigan City-La Porte stands among only three Indiana metros posting both labor force growth and rising employment year-over-year, a distinct outperformance against statewide labor force contraction of 18,900 workers. That growth has coincided with a sharp 6.6% year-over-year decline in average hourly earnings as of April 2026 (the steepest drop of any Indiana metro), even as county unemployment edged up to 3.9% in September alongside a measured 2.14% employment decline in underlying county job counts from 2023 to 2024.
What it means
Rising labor supply paired with falling average earnings points to a local economy absorbing workers faster than wages are adjusting upward, a combination that can support business expansion plans by easing hiring-cost pressure while simultaneously straining household purchasing power that feeds local retail and service spending. Manufacturing (21.9% of metro employment, anchored by Howmet Aerospace and Alpha Baking) and healthcare (13.2%, led by Northwest Health-La Porte and Franciscan St. Anthony Health) remain the stabilizing base, but county-level job count softening beneath a low headline unemployment rate warrants scrutiny before treating the metro's numbers as uniformly healthy. Local commerce and economic development leaders should consider reviewing whether labor force growth is translating into new business formation or simply reshuffling workers among existing employers before citing this metro as an expansion-ready labor pool.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether La Porte County's September uptick to 3.9% unemployment persists into the November county release; a continued rise alongside labor force growth would suggest more residents are actively job-seeking, a healthier interpretation worth confirming against the alternative of workers exiting the workforce.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide manufacturing WARN notices (24 of Indiana's filings in 2026) warrant monitoring given manufacturing's 21.9% share of Michigan City-La Porte employment and the metro's reliance on Howmet Aerospace as an anchor employer.
Worth watching: October 2026 MSA-level unemployment data from BLS will not post until late November; commerce leaders and press citing 'current' metro unemployment should flag the one-month lag and rely on September county figures (3.9%) until then.
Potential inflection point: Continued wage softness against the metro's labor force growth could pressure local consumer spending heading into the holiday retail season; sales tax receipts and retail foot-traffic data over the next 60 days will help confirm whether household purchasing power is contracting.
Sources
- Indiana Realtors Association — Michigan City-La Porte is one of three Indiana metros with labor force and employment growth
- Kelley School of Business, Indiana Context — Average hourly earnings in Michigan City fell 6.6% year-over-year through April 2026
- DataUSA — La Porte County employment declined 2.14% from 2023 to 2024
- Indiana Department of Workforce Development — La Porte County unemployment rate reached 3.9% in September 2026
- Indiana Department of Workforce Development — Manufacturing accounted for 24 of Indiana's WARN notices in 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics / Indiana DWD — Indiana statewide labor force shrank by 18,900 workers year-over-year
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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