Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA MSA — October 2026
Scranton metro lags state's labor market strength, unevenly
Pennsylvania's unemployment rate fell to a near three-year low of 3.6% in September, but Scranton-Wilkes-Barre's most recent reading of 4.7% and Hazleton's climb to 7.5% show the metro diverging from the state trend.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- PA statewide unemployment: 3.6% — September 2026, lowest since Sept. 2023
- Scranton-Wilkes-Barre MSA unemployment: 4.7% — July 2026, most recent available; lags PA release
- Hazleton unemployment: 7.5% — May 2026, up from 6.1% a year earlier
- PA labor force size: 6,663,000 — Record high, Sept. 2026
Key takeaways
Metro unemployment data lags the story commerce leaders need.
The most recent Scranton-Wilkes-Barre MSA figure available is from July (4.7%), three months behind Pennsylvania's September release of 3.6%. Public statements on local momentum should caveat this lag explicitly rather than implying current parity with the state trend.
Hazleton's unemployment climb outpaces the rest of the metro.
Hazleton rose from 6.1% to 7.5% between June 2025 and May 2026, nearly double Scranton's own rate over the same stretch. A metro-wide economic health claim that doesn't separate these sub-areas risks overstating conditions in the hardest-hit communities.
Healthcare wage strength is the clearest bright spot in the data.
Registered nurse pay locally rose to $98,763 (up moderately), tracking the statewide pattern where education and health services added 32,600 jobs year-over-year — the largest gain of any supersector. This is consistent with national healthcare hiring strength carrying through to the metro level.
Pay softness in professional roles may reflect national white-collar pullback.
Local software engineer pay fell significantly to $122,247 and business analyst pay fell moderately to $77,023, consistent with national declines in information and professional/business services employment. Commerce leaders tracking the region's professional-services base should watch whether this softness is cyclical or signals a longer repositioning.
Median advertised pay by role — Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $22,987 | $28,365 | $31,740 | Moderate decline | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $24,226 | $28,080 | $30,363 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $32,425 | $37,440 | $41,600 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $57,844 | $80,184 | $88,081 | Moderate decline | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $29,972 | $34,736 | $45,500 | Moderate decline | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $35,789 | $43,680 | $43,680 | Moderate increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $58,849 | $69,680 | $72,800 | Stable | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $32,837 | $34,701 | $37,440 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $33,176 | $35,749 | $37,960 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $27,040 | $29,500 | $30,465 | Significant decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $30,690 | $37,222 | $42,795 | Moderate decline | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $32,828 | $38,480 | $41,855 | Stable | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $58,573 | $67,854 | $72,800 | Moderate decline | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $84,692 | $98,763 | $109,200 | Moderate increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $107,334 | $122,247 | $156,000 | Significant decline | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $94,217 | $137,500 | $144,663 | Moderate increase | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $52,125 | $62,500 | $67,500 | Stable | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $75,000 | $96,469 | $120,000 | Significant increase | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $52,500 | $65,821 | $75,561 | Moderate decline | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $42,999 | $55,296 | $57,476 | Significant increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,204 | $85,277 | $98,803 | Moderate increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $31,460 | $43,680 | $54,121 | Stable | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $70,000 | $80,199 | $90,000 | Moderate increase | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $52,917 | $72,500 | $80,000 | Moderate decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $77,022 | $77,023 | $96,689 | 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 | $57,059 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $75,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $34,840 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $62,295 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $56,482 | Significant decline | Significant decline |
| Financial Activities | $55,000 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $61,950 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $45,760 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,242 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,660 | Stable | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Pennsylvania's unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in September — a near three-year low and 29th consecutive month below the national rate — while the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre metro's most recent available reading of 4.7% (July) and Luzerne County's 5.2% (August) show the region running measurably looser than the commonwealth as a whole. That gap, concentrated in Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton where unemployment climbed to 6.2% and 7.5% respectively over the prior year, points to a labor market where statewide strength is not distributing evenly across the metro's constituent labor sheds.
What it means
Divergence between a tightening state labor market and a looser, uneven metro picture complicates any single narrative about business conditions here — commerce leaders weighing expansion or investment should treat Scranton proper, Wilkes-Barre, and Hazleton as distinct labor sheds rather than one metro statistic. Locally, pay softness in software engineering ($122,247, down significantly) and business analysis ($77,023, down moderately) alongside gains in financial analysis ($96,469, up significantly) and registered nursing ($98,763, up) suggests the region's growth is concentrated in healthcare and finance rather than broad-based. Economic development groups and chambers may find value in citing sub-metro unemployment detail, not the headline MSA figure, when assessing which communities are positioned for near-term investment.
Looking ahead
Data gap to monitor: October's Scranton-Wilkes-Barre MSA unemployment figure has not yet posted; watch for the BLS Mid-Atlantic release to confirm whether the metro is narrowing or widening its gap with Pennsylvania's 3.6% state rate.
Worth watching: Pennsylvania WARN filings concentrated in manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation/logistics statewide — three sectors with meaningful metro presence given transportation and material moving's 15.4% share of local employment. A local filing in any of these would be a material signal given current ad trends.
Early indicator: CDL truck driver pay locally is down moderately to $80,184 even as the role remains above the $78,872 national median, a combination worth tracking given the metro's outsized reliance on transportation and warehousing employment.
Potential inflection point: Statewide minimum wage legislation (proposed increases to $11 in 2027, $13 in 2028, $15 by 2029) remains stalled in the Senate; any movement would affect a meaningful share of the metro's retail, food service, and hospitality employers given Pennsylvania's current $7.25 floor.
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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