Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Pittsfield, MA MSA — September 2026
Pittsfield jobless rate falls, but payrolls shrink in tandem.
Berkshire County unemployment eased to 4.1% in August even as Pittsfield posted a -1.2% employment decline, one of the sharpest in Massachusetts, while local manufacturing and construction wages moved higher against a softening statewide trend.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Berkshire County unemployment: 4.1% — Down from 4.5% in July 2026; vs 4.3% MA, 4.1% US
- Pittsfield employment change: -1.2% — Aug 2026 m/m, among largest declines statewide
- Berkshire County avg weekly wage: $1,295 — vs $1,654 U.S. average, Q1 2026
- Massachusetts statewide job change: -7,100 — August 2026, vs +8,300 over-the-year gain
Key takeaways
Falling unemployment may mask a shrinking labor force, not strength.
Berkshire County's rate dropped to 4.1% in August from 4.5% in July even as Pittsfield logged one of the state's largest employment declines (-1.2%). That divergence is consistent with workers exiting the labor force rather than a genuine hiring acceleration, a distinction economists should flag in public commentary on local conditions.
Wage gap with the national economy remains a structural feature.
Berkshire County's $1,295 average weekly wage sits about 22% below the $1,654 U.S. average, a persistent gap rather than a new development. This continues to shape the metro's cost competitiveness and purchasing power relative to peer Massachusetts regions like Worcester and Springfield, which posted stronger year-over-year job growth.
Manufacturing and construction wages are moving against the statewide grain.
Manufacturing Production Worker pay rose significantly to $42,494 and Construction Laborer pay rose to $44,434 locally, even as Massachusetts overall saw Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services employment fall 5.8%. The divergence suggests Pittsfield's blue-collar base is tightening locally even as the state's white-collar sectors soften.
Healthcare wage strength tracks a statewide pattern, not a local anomaly.
Registered Nurse pay rose significantly to $117,936 locally, mirroring Massachusetts' broader concentration of job growth in health care and education sectors. For commerce leaders, this reinforces healthcare's role as one of the metro's few consistently expanding wage bases.
Median advertised pay by role — Pittsfield, MA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $30,358 | $34,596 | $36,400 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $31,200 | $35,620 | $36,722 | Stable | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $37,321 | $43,680 | $44,980 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $61,818 | $84,500 | $95,550 | Significant increase | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $33,306 | $35,000 | $37,559 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $37,297 | $44,434 | $50,960 | Moderate increase | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $64,409 | $78,000 | $88,400 | Stable | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $38,282 | $42,494 | $45,333 | Significant increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $35,360 | $37,535 | $45,000 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $32,831 | $35,360 | $38,480 | Moderate increase | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $37,440 | $45,323 | $45,760 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $41,600 | $47,958 | $52,393 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $60,008 | $63,359 | $64,609 | Significant decline | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $88,753 | $117,936 | $128,440 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $96,182 | $124,784 | $145,491 | Significant increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $99,293 | $143,927 | $159,248 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $63,764 | $70,440 | $76,895 | Stable | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $59,121 | $79,616 | $89,131 | Significant increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $54,000 | $71,365 | $76,000 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $49,293 | $66,000 | $77,500 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $73,750 | $94,078 | $119,583 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $47,947 | $63,176 | $71,603 | Moderate increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $53,716 | $81,349 | $88,365 | Significant decline | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $57,231 | $108,597 | $113,717 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $80,548 | $96,094 | $101,201 | Significant 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 | $85,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $85,807 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $43,824 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $39,727 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $87,213 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $53,424 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $96,836 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $88,400 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $37,440 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $70,307 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Berkshire County's unemployment rate eased to 4.1% in August 2026 from 4.5% in July, even as Pittsfield posted one of Massachusetts' sharpest month-over-month employment declines at -1.2%, a combination consistent with a metro where labor force exits are shrinking the denominator as much as job growth is expanding the base. Wage levels remain structurally below state and national benchmarks — Berkshire County's $1,295 average weekly wage trails the U.S. average of $1,654 by roughly 22% — while anchor employers in manufacturing (General Electric, General Dynamics Mission Systems) and healthcare (Berkshire Health Systems) continue to anchor payrolls amid a persistent construction labor shortage flagged earlier this year.
What it means
Falling unemployment paired with contracting payrolls signals a tightening labor pool rather than robust job creation, a distinction that matters for commerce leaders weighing expansion timing and for economists assessing whether the metro's economic base is growing or simply aging out of the workforce. Advertised pay gains concentrated in manufacturing, construction, and nursing — Manufacturing Production Worker up significantly to $42,494, Construction Laborer up to $44,434, Registered Nurse up significantly to $117,936 — point to localized wage pressure in hands-on and clinical occupations rather than broad-based momentum. Current conditions suggest local economic development bodies should monitor whether construction and manufacturing wage gains reflect genuine demand growth or a shrinking available labor supply competing for the same roles.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Pittsfield's -1.2% August employment drop warrants a second data point before drawing conclusions; watch the Massachusetts October 16 unemployment release for whether Berkshire County's improvement holds or reverses.
Emerging pressure point: The statewide construction labor shortage reported in February 2026 persists alongside rising local Construction Laborer pay, a combination that could constrain the pace of any commercial or public infrastructure projects commerce leaders are tracking.
Early indicator: Massachusetts' five regions with year-over-year job gains (Worcester, Amherst-Northampton, Springfield) did not include Pittsfield; watch whether Berkshire County appears in that list when state data updates, as a signal of whether the metro is converging with or diverging from western Massachusetts peers.
Potential inflection point: National WARN filings show healthcare and manufacturing among the most-affected industries statewide in 2026; given Pittsfield's reliance on Berkshire Health Systems and General Dynamics as anchor employers, any regional WARN activity in these sectors would be a meaningful early signal for local economic development planning.
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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