Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Pocatello, ID MSA — September 2026
Pocatello's labor force grows faster than its job count.
Bannock County's labor force expanded to 41,101 even as MSA payrolls stayed flat and unemployment held at 4.2%, with wage softness concentrated in office, production, and finance-adjacent roles.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Pocatello MSA unemployment rate: 4.2% — Up from Bannock County's 3.8% in July
- MSA nonfarm payroll change: -2.2% YoY — Flat month-over-month in August 2026
- Bannock County labor force: 41,101 — Up from prior month despite flat job count
- U.S. September payroll growth: 29,000 jobs — Below 45k 12-month average; wages trail inflation
Key takeaways
Labor force growth is outrunning job creation locally.
Bannock County's civilian labor force climbed to 41,101 even as MSA nonfarm payrolls were unchanged month-over-month and down 2.2% from a year ago. That combination — more workers chasing a flat job count — is consistent with the unemployment rate drifting to 4.2%, a signal of softening demand rather than a tightening market.
Healthcare and public institutions remain the metro's ballast.
Idaho State University, Portneuf Medical Center, and the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District anchor the metro's largest-employer list, and Registered Nurse advertised pay rose significantly to a $99,105 median even as broader administrative and manufacturing wages declined. Hospitals topped regional postings activity again in August, reinforcing healthcare's role as the sector least exposed to the national finance and government pullback.
Wage softness concentrates in office and production roles.
Accountant ($61,422), Financial Analyst ($78,766), Administrative Assistant ($39,537), and Manufacturing Production Worker ($33,420) pay all moved down locally, several significantly, while national figures for the same roles held flat or rose. That divergence suggests metro-specific softening in office-support and production demand rather than a national trend reaching Pocatello.
Posting volume looks stable, not expansionary.
2,617 unique postings in August at a $21.97 average wage reflects continuity rather than acceleration, especially set against statewide patterns where southwestern Idaho postings rose while advertised wages fell. For a metro this size, steady posting counts alongside flat payrolls point to replacement-level activity rather than net job creation.
Median advertised pay by role — Pocatello, ID MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $24,042 | $29,120 | $33,012 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $25,464 | $30,394 | $32,240 | Moderate increase | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $29,346 | $35,501 | $37,440 | Moderate decline | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $57,500 | $83,117 | $100,000 | Stable | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $26,491 | $29,993 | $33,280 | Moderate decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $29,120 | $33,836 | $37,440 | Stable | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $60,702 | $72,365 | $84,573 | Significant decline | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $31,044 | $33,420 | $36,874 | Significant decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $27,040 | $37,088 | $38,480 | Significant increase | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $27,725 | $31,689 | $32,240 | Moderate increase | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $32,688 | $35,360 | $37,960 | Moderate decline | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $34,270 | $39,537 | $41,131 | Moderate decline | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician * | $57,953 | $69,876 | $80,278 | Moderate increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $82,420 | $99,105 | $108,169 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $75,000 | $109,143 | $109,144 | Significant increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $84,712 | $85,269 | $85,269 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $54,790 | $61,422 | $61,422 | Significant decline | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $69,861 | $78,766 | $84,533 | Significant decline | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager * | $53,769 | $65,000 | $70,900 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $46,702 | $62,731 | $72,192 | Significant increase | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $51,797 | $77,612 | $77,612 | Significant increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $35,032 | $55,354 | $59,133 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $60,251 | $85,007 | $94,818 | Moderate increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $70,000 | $70,000 | $70,000 | No data | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $77,780 | $96,636 | $103,667 | Stable | $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 | $49,437 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $50,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $34,376 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $43,784 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Information | $51,358 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $50,507 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $64,480 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $69,986 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $26,647 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,907 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Pocatello MSA unemployment held at 4.2% in September, with nonfarm payrolls flat month-over-month and down 2.2% year-over-year even as Bannock County's labor force expanded to 41,101, a pattern consistent with statewide labor-force growth outpacing job creation across southeastern Idaho. Job postings in the region numbered 2,617 in August at an average advertised wage of $21.97 per hour, suggesting steady but unremarkable hiring activity against a backdrop of national payroll growth slowing sharply to 29,000 jobs in September with wage growth falling behind inflation for the first time in two years.
What it means
Flat local payrolls alongside a growing labor force point to an economy absorbing new workers without expanding its job base meaningfully, a dynamic that typically signals slack rather than overheating and bears watching for its effect on retail and services spending. Divergent sector performance nationally — healthcare and construction adding jobs while finance and government contract — appears consistent with Pocatello's own mix, where Portneuf Medical Center and Idaho State University anchor stability while administrative and clerical wages soften locally. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion or investment timing should consider that posting volume and wage data point to a buyer's market for labor-intensive roles, even as skilled healthcare and technical postings remain comparatively tight.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Idaho's statewide pattern of labor-force growth outpacing job creation has pushed unemployment higher in multiple regions, including southeastern Idaho's rise to 3.8%. Watch whether Pocatello's 4.2% rate continues drifting upward or stabilizes as new entrants find placement.
Early indicator: National payroll growth has slowed to 29,000 in September with downward revisions to July and August totaling 60,000 jobs. A pullback of that scale historically reaches smaller metros with a lag, making Pocatello's October-November payroll figures worth close attention.
Emerging pressure point: Real wages are no longer outpacing inflation nationally for the first time in two years, and metro-level softening in office, production, and finance-adjacent roles may compound that pressure locally. Consumer spending capacity across the metro's retail and service base is a reasonable proxy to monitor.
Policy-relevant signal: State agencies statewide report an 11.2% vacancy rate alongside longer fill times, a dynamic that touches public-sector service delivery in education, health, and administration locally. Local government hiring capacity is worth tracking given the metro's reliance on public and quasi-public institutions as employment anchors.
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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