Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Monroe, MI MSA — October 2026
Monroe's jobless rate falls as its payrolls shrink.
Monroe County unemployment dropped to 4.3% in September — the sharpest year-over-year improvement in Michigan — even as metro payroll employment fell 3.4% in July, a gap that points to labor-force exit as the likelier driver, apart from renewed hiring demand.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Monroe unemployment rate: 4.3% — Sept. 2026, down 0.7 pts from August
- Monroe payroll employment change: -3.4% — July 2026, steepest among MI metros
- Michigan labor force decline: -158,000 — Year-over-year, statewide
- Manufacturing share of Monroe employment: 49.7% — High location quotient vs. state/national avg
Key takeaways
Monroe's falling jobless rate may mask a shrinking labor pool.
September's 4.3% rate improved sharply from August, but statewide labor force participation dropped to 58.5% and Michigan's labor force fell 158,000 over the year. A declining unemployment rate driven by fewer job-seekers reads differently for regional growth projections than one driven by job creation.
Payroll contraction and improving unemployment are telling different stories.
Monroe MSA payroll employment fell 3.4% in July, the steepest decline among surveyed Michigan metros, even as the unemployment rate improved year-over-year. Economic development leaders tracking business investment momentum should treat these as two separate signals, not a single consistent trend.
Manufacturing concentration remains Monroe's defining structural feature.
Manufacturing accounts for 49.7% of metro employment, well above typical regional benchmarks, while Michigan's 10-year outlook projects manufacturing will shed more jobs than any other sector statewide. Monroe's economic trajectory is unusually tied to a single sector's national and statewide fortunes.
Skilled-trades pay gains stand apart from a flat broader wage picture.
Electrician pay rose significantly to a $80,080 metro median and manufacturing production worker pay rose moderately to $39,520, both outpacing many white-collar local roles that held flat. Wage momentum appears concentrated in production and trades work, with limited spread across the local economy.
Median advertised pay by role — Monroe, MI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $22,833 | $25,696 | $28,600 | Moderate decline | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $25,106 | $29,120 | $30,798 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $32,077 | $38,480 | $40,282 | Moderate increase | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $58,289 | $82,000 | $93,107 | Moderate decline | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $31,045 | $32,837 | $38,480 | Moderate increase | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $33,280 | $41,600 | $41,600 | Moderate decline | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $69,023 | $80,080 | $87,360 | Significant increase | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $35,360 | $39,520 | $39,520 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $35,245 | $38,480 | $38,480 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $28,565 | $32,240 | $33,093 | Stable | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $32,999 | $40,025 | $40,841 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $37,440 | $40,043 | $41,620 | Moderate increase | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $66,560 | $66,560 | $66,560 | Moderate increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $86,719 | $94,835 | $104,807 | Moderate increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $125,573 | $166,020 | $173,806 | Significant increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer * | $99,151 | $136,328 | $154,349 | Stable | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $59,696 | $64,634 | $73,266 | Stable | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $75,662 | $85,217 | $114,327 | Significant increase | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $52,696 | $55,886 | $61,761 | Significant decline | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $43,369 | $58,020 | $69,000 | Stable | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $60,000 | $75,349 | $92,184 | Moderate decline | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $38,836 | $50,187 | $56,658 | Moderate increase | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $42,640 | $65,998 | $77,781 | Moderate increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $43,753 | $65,000 | $65,000 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $72,500 | $92,496 | $105,164 | Stable | $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 | $35,880 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $70,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $34,319 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $38,937 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $160,627 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $45,084 | Stable | Significant decline |
| Professional & Business Services | $51,485 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $61,773 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $34,840 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Government | $62,294 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Monroe County's unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in September, down 0.7 percentage points from August and the largest year-over-year improvement among Michigan's 18 metro regions, even as payroll employment contracted 3.4% in July amid a manufacturing-concentrated economy where 49.7% of jobs sit in industrial sub-sectors. Statewide labor force contraction — Michigan shed 158,000 workers from its labor force over the past year — appears to be compressing Monroe's unemployment figures alongside actual job growth, a distinction that matters for reading the headline number correctly.
What it means
Falling unemployment paired with shrinking payrolls signals a labor market where fewer residents are actively seeking work; this may or may not reflect new output or hiring volume, a distinction that matters for anyone using the jobless rate as a proxy for business conditions. Advertised pay for manufacturing production roles (up, moderate, to $39,520 metro median) and electricians (up significantly, to $80,080) suggests selective wage pressure in skilled-trades and production segments even as broader payroll counts soften. Commerce and economic development leaders evaluating expansion or investment announcements should weigh payroll and labor-force trends alongside the unemployment rate, since the latter alone may overstate labor market strength this month.
Looking ahead
Expected: October metro-level unemployment and payroll figures from BLS and Michigan DTMB are due in the coming weeks; watch whether July's payroll contraction persists or reverses, which will clarify whether September's unemployment improvement reflects real growth or continued labor-force exit.
Emerging pressure point: Michigan's statewide labor force participation decline (58.5%, down with a median regional drop of 6.8% year-over-year) has not yet shown a clear local reversal signal. Continued erosion would constrain the available workforce for any Monroe-area capital investment or expansion announcement regardless of unemployment headlines.
Worth watching: Michigan's 10-year state outlook projects manufacturing as the sector most likely to shed jobs statewide, a structural risk given Monroe's 49.7% manufacturing concentration. Local economic development planning may benefit from tracking diversification efforts against this projection.
Potential inflection point: National manufacturing employment grew roughly 9,000 jobs in September and is up 72,000 since December 2025, a modest national tailwind that has not yet clearly shown up in Monroe's payroll counts. Divergence between national manufacturing momentum and local payroll contraction is worth monitoring for signs of a local lag or a local-specific headwind.
Sources
- Michigan Center for Data and Analytics — Monroe County unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in September 2026
- Michigan Labor Market Review — Monroe MSA payroll employment fell 3.4% in July 2026
- Michigan Labor Market Review — Manufacturing comprises 49.7% of Monroe MSA employment
- Michigan Center for Data and Analytics — Michigan's labor force declined 158,000 over the past year
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Manufacturing added ~9,000 jobs nationally in September, up 72,000 since Dec. 2025
- Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget — Michigan's 10-year outlook projects manufacturing to shed the most jobs statewide
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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