Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Pascagoula, MS MSA — October 2026
Pascagoula's shipyards outrun the state's labor slowdown.
Jackson County unemployment sits at 3.5% against Mississippi's shrinking 54.7% labor force participation rate, while registered nurse and electrician pay both post significant local gains.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Jackson County unemployment: 3.5% — July 2026, down 0.6 pts year-over-year
- MS labor force participation: 54.7% — Down from 55.7% a year prior; 2nd-lowest in US
- National unemployment rate: 4.1% — vs 3.60% Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula MSA (March)
- Mississippi WARN activity: 1,804 workers — 12 notices statewide in 2026, mostly manufacturing
Key takeaways
Shipbuilding wages diverge sharply from broader manufacturing.
Pipe welders earn $35-$40 an hour on Navy destroyer and amphibious programs while the metro's general manufacturing production worker pay fell significantly this month. The split suggests the metro's industrial strength is concentrated in defense-contract skilled trades, a distinction that matters for anyone pitching the metro's industrial base to a prospective employer.
Healthcare pay gains outpace the metro's overall wage story.
Registered nurse pay rose significantly locally and nationally, and certified nursing assistant pay rose moderately, consistent with Mississippi's statewide pattern of healthcare as one of three sectors (with retail and manufacturing) employing 43% of workers. Singing River Health System and Merit Health Biloxi sit at the center of a sector showing some of the clearest upward wage momentum in the metro's basket.
Local unemployment beats the nation, but participation is the real story.
Jackson County's 3.5% rate and the MSA's 3.60% both run below the national 4.1%, yet Mississippi's statewide labor force participation fell to 54.7% in August, second-lowest in the country. A metro posting low unemployment alongside state-level workforce withdrawal points to a tight labor pool — relevant context for any economic development pitch built on unemployment numbers alone.
Office and administrative pay is rising faster than the trades story suggests.
Administrative assistant pay rose significantly and customer service representative pay rose moderately in the metro, both outpacing their stable national counterparts. That pattern is consistent with a local business base competing for office-support capacity even as shipbuilding dominates the metro's hiring narrative.
Median advertised pay by role — Pascagoula, MS MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $19,851 | $23,139 | $26,061 | Moderate decline | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $22,394 | $24,487 | $24,932 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $28,110 | $32,895 | $40,775 | Significant decline | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $49,217 | $73,000 | $78,540 | Moderate increase | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $26,374 | $29,969 | $30,693 | Stable | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $24,409 | $25,625 | $29,120 | Moderate decline | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $57,123 | $69,970 | $87,360 | Significant increase | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $27,726 | $29,249 | $31,195 | Significant decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $32,018 | $36,385 | $36,385 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $23,740 | $25,912 | $26,293 | Stable | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $24,960 | $29,200 | $32,641 | Moderate increase | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $30,753 | $36,370 | $36,934 | Significant increase | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $47,840 | $60,966 | $62,221 | Moderate increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $65,819 | $78,044 | $84,218 | Significant increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer * | $112,505 | $155,000 | $168,330 | Significant increase | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer * | $84,200 | $118,965 | $133,817 | Moderate decline | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $52,120 | $60,319 | $64,978 | Moderate decline | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $65,095 | $69,365 | $71,227 | Significant increase | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager * | $42,332 | $56,076 | $67,450 | Significant increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $40,902 | $69,856 | $79,405 | Significant increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $68,896 | $68,896 | $68,896 | Significant decline | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $23,400 | $45,195 | $57,146 | Significant decline | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $62,608 | $80,000 | $89,945 | Moderate increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $50,276 | $50,276 | $50,276 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $65,692 | $78,697 | $88,189 | Moderate decline | $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 | $69,092 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $72,455 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $32,072 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $56,246 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $80,150 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $42,031 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $37,567 | Stable | Moderate increase |
| Education & Health Services | $56,603 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $30,206 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $63,228 | Stable | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Jackson County unemployment held at 3.5% in July, down six-tenths of a point from a year earlier, while the broader Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula MSA last measured 3.60% in March, both running below Mississippi's September rate of 3.3% at the state level but tighter than the national 4.1%. Shipbuilding remains the defining force in the metro's labor conditions: Ingalls Shipbuilding and Bollinger's nearby yards anchor demand for skilled trades, with pipe welders commanding $35-$40 an hour plus overtime on active Navy destroyer and amphibious ship programs.
What it means
Advertised pay in the metro's trade and technical occupations — electricians up significantly, registered nurses up significantly, HVAC technicians up moderately — points to a local economy where skilled-trade and healthcare capacity is the binding constraint on growth, independent of headline unemployment. Manufacturing production worker pay fell significantly even as shipbuilding programs stay active, a divergence that may suggest wage pressure is concentrated in licensed trades and healthcare and is not broad-based across the industrial base. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion or relocation incentives should weigh this unevenness: current conditions suggest due diligence on occupation-specific pay trajectories, alongside metro-wide averages, when assessing whether the local labor pool can support a given investment.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Mississippi's Chief Economist Corey Miller describes a statewide 'no-hire, no-fire' pattern with roughly 700 jobs lost September-to-August. Whether Jackson County's shipbuilding-driven resilience continues to outperform this statewide holding pattern, or converges toward it, will shape how commerce leaders pitch the metro over the winter.
Potential inflection point: Mississippi Development Authority Director Bill Cork's departure in October follows a tenure that logged $65 billion in investment, largely data centers, and 23,000 jobs statewide. Leadership transition at the state's lead investment-recruitment agency is a factor local economic development corps should track for any shift in incentive priorities affecting the Gulf Coast.
Early indicator: National manufacturing employment grew by roughly 9,000 jobs in September and 72,000 since December 2025, a trend worth cross-referencing against Ingalls' and Bollinger's program timelines. Continued national manufacturing momentum is consistent with sustained demand for the metro's shipbuilding trades over the next two months.
Emerging pressure point: Twelve Mississippi WARN notices in 2026 affected 1,804 workers, concentrated in manufacturing, but none reported locally in Jackson County this cycle. Any shift in defense contract timing or federal budget activity bears watching given the metro's concentration in Navy shipbuilding programs.
Sources
- USA Facts / Bureau of Labor Statistics — Jackson County unemployment at 3.5% in July 2026, down 0.6 points year-over-year
- Alliance Mechanical Solutions — Pipe welders in Pascagoula earning $35-$40/hour plus overtime on shipbuilding programs
- Mississippi Department of Employment Security — Mississippi labor force participation fell to 54.7%, second-lowest nationally
- Mississippi Department of Employment Security — Healthcare and Social Assistance employed 188,871 in Mississippi in 2026
- Office of Governor Tate Reeves — Mississippi Development Authority Director Bill Cork departed after 3-year tenure logging $65B investment
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — National manufacturing employment up ~9,000 in September, 72,000 since December 2025
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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