Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Provo-Orem, UT MSA — October 2026
Provo's wage gap signals a cost advantage this cycle.
Provo-Orem unemployment sits near 3.5%-3.8% against a 4.1% national rate, while the metro's mean hourly wage of $30.88 remains 8% below the national average even after leading U.S. cities in ten-year job growth.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.5%-3.8% — vs 4.1% national (BLS, Dec 2025-May 2026 range)
- Metro vs. national wage gap: $30.88/hr — 8% below $33.54 national mean (BLS OES)
- Statewide wage growth: 4.0% YoY — Q1 2026, outpacing recent CPI trend
- Utah WARN activity: 13 notices / 1,861 workers — Through Sept 2026, led by Tyson Fresh Meats (723)
Key takeaways
Provo's wage gap with the nation is a feature of its cost structure.
Metro mean hourly wages ran 8% below the national average as of the most recent OES release, even as the metro posted the nation's strongest decade of job growth. For commerce leaders, that combination — strong employment growth alongside below-national pay — reads as a durable cost advantage.
Manufacturing pay softness bears watching against a stable statewide sector.
Metro manufacturing production worker pay is down moderately even as Utah's manufacturing and healthcare sectors each logged only six WARN notices statewide, a relatively contained figure. Localized softness in one advertised-pay lane, set against six WARN notices, points to site-specific adjustment — worth distinguishing before drawing metro-wide conclusions.
Construction holds a wage premium that outpaces the national trend.
Metro construction laborer pay sits at $43,499 against a national median of $40,727, and the Gardner Institute projects 3.2% construction job growth statewide with trades wages potentially exceeding 5%. Sustained premium pay in a sector that's also growing is consistent with real capacity constraints in a metro still absorbing a decade of population and building growth.
Data engineering pay climbs locally while software engineering holds flat.
Data engineer advertised pay moved up moderately to $135,001 while software engineer pay stayed stable at $143,808, a divergence worth tracking as a signal of which tech specializations are gaining local traction. For a metro whose tech sector is a meaningful share of its economic identity, uneven movement within tech matters more than a single aggregate read.
Median advertised pay by role — Provo-Orem, UT MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $25,004 | $31,415 | $33,280 | Stable | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $26,237 | $29,704 | $32,240 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,974 | $35,360 | $37,440 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $56,880 | $81,500 | $90,000 | Stable | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $30,604 | $33,604 | $35,421 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $35,595 | $43,499 | $45,760 | Stable | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $60,604 | $73,359 | $83,200 | Stable | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $31,328 | $34,320 | $37,440 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $34,320 | $38,844 | $41,600 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $29,451 | $30,972 | $33,446 | Stable | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $33,280 | $37,054 | $40,415 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $33,280 | $42,552 | $47,500 | Stable | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $61,127 | $76,599 | $87,671 | Moderate decline | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $77,435 | $90,251 | $92,050 | Stable | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $108,293 | $143,808 | $155,000 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $102,128 | $135,001 | $145,888 | Moderate increase | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $57,908 | $65,000 | $72,500 | Stable | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $71,064 | $92,500 | $95,689 | Stable | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $50,617 | $72,500 | $80,000 | Significant increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $44,720 | $55,000 | $60,000 | Moderate decline | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,538 | $81,400 | $94,948 | Moderate decline | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $33,280 | $46,150 | $52,944 | Stable | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $59,479 | $91,500 | $108,200 | Significant increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $43,753 | $67,376 | $69,421 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $76,983 | $95,344 | $100,519 | 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 | $60,000 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $59,881 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $35,113 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $52,000 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $100,936 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $52,000 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $56,313 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $46,800 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,946 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,286 | Stable | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Provo-Orem's labor market shows unemployment near 3.5%-3.8%, well below the national 4.1% rate, with metro employment holding around 355,000-357,000 through the first half of 2026 after a decade of standout growth including a 41.3% ten-year job gain that led U.S. cities. Advertised pay across the metro's basket remains persistently below national levels — a mean hourly wage of $30.88 versus $33.54 nationally — even as construction and advanced manufacturing roles continue to anchor demand, reflecting the metro's traditionally lower cost structure amid a labor market that otherwise shows strength.
What it means
Sustained sub-4% unemployment alongside a wage gap that hasn't closed suggests Provo-Orem's labor market advantage for employers considering local expansion remains intact, even as statewide wage growth (4.0% year-over-year in Q1 2026) outpaces CPI in a way the national labor market has not managed. Commerce leaders evaluating site-selection or investment decisions should weigh that cost advantage against signs of sector unevenness — manufacturing and marketing roles showing moderate pay declines locally while construction and healthcare hold firm. Consider monitoring whether the metro's below-national pay levels persist as a durable cost advantage or begin to constrain local labor supply as statewide participation patterns shift toward older workers.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: Utah's labor force participation is rebalancing toward older workers (55+) while prime-age and youth participation declines, a demographic shift state economists are flagging. Watch whether this pattern shows up distinctly in Utah County's data over the next two quarters, since it bears on the metro's longer-run labor supply.
Worth watching: Statewide WARN filings remain modest (13 notices, 1,861 workers through September) with no Provo-Orem-specific large filer identified this month. Continued absence of a metro-specific layoff event would reinforce the current read of stability.
Early indicator: National information-sector job losses (-23,000 in September) and flat professional/business services nationally stand alongside Utah's own information-sector losses (-1,700 year-over-year). Track whether Provo's tech-adjacent employment follows the national information-sector contraction or continues to diverge given the metro's computer/math employment concentration.
Expected: Construction employment growth (projected 3.2% statewide) and trades wage gains above 5% should continue through the winter construction slowdown period. A deceleration beyond seasonal norms would be a meaningful signal for commerce leaders tracking regional building capacity.
Sources
- Salt Lake Tribune — Provo led U.S. cities in job growth with 41.3% over ten years
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages — Metro mean hourly wage $30.88 vs national $33.54
- Bureau of Labor Statistics / Utah Department of Workforce Services — Provo-Orem unemployment rate 3.5%-3.8%
- Utah Department of Workforce Services — Utah average weekly wage grew 4.0% YoY in Q1 2026
- Utah Department of Workforce Services — Utah manufacturing and healthcare each had 6 WARN notices
- Utah Department of Workforce Services, Chief Economist Ben Crabb — Utah labor force participation shifting toward older workers
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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