Labor Market Pulse · Restaurant Industry · September 2026
Restaurant Industry Labor Market Report: Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA MSA — September 2026
Scranton restaurant pay lags national rates as local unemployment climbs.
Crew pay fell to a $27,040 metro median against a stable $29,839 nationally, while metro unemployment at 4.7% in July ran well above Pennsylvania's 4.1% average.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 4.7% — July 2026, vs 4.1% PA and US rates
- Luzerne County unemployment: 5.0% — September 2026, above metro average
- National food service job openings: 673,000 — Down from 916,000 in January 2026
- Regional food service median wage: $29,296 — vs $33,478 national median
Key takeaways
Metro unemployment running hotter than the state norm.
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre's 4.7% July rate and Luzerne County's 5.0% September rate both outpace Pennsylvania's 4.1% average, suggesting a modestly deeper local candidate pool than state figures imply. Restaurant operators recruiting FOH and crew roles may find marginally easier fills than peers in tighter PA metros.
Server pay stuck below national levels despite tight supply.
Metro server pay sits at $31,194 against a $35,012 national median, a gap wide enough that it likely signals ongoing vulnerability to turnover toward better-tipped markets or adjacent industries. Advertised stability in this rate, rather than growth, suggests operators are competing more on tip potential and shift flexibility than base pay.
Catering Manager pay softening while national rate holds firm.
Metro catering manager pay is down moderately to $52,337 even as the national median stabilizes at $50,960, narrowing what had been a local premium. Operators managing event and catering staffing should reassess whether this role still commands a local premium or if budgets have begun converging toward national norms.
Crew wage declines may widen churn risk at the entry tier.
Crew pay fell moderately to a metro median of $27,040 while the national figure held stable near $29,839, pulling local entry-level compensation further from national norms. Given food service employment's 20% regional growth since 2020, continued softening here risks feeding the turnover the industry is already working to reduce.
Median advertised pay by role — Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assistant Restaurant Manager | $23,417 | $39,520 | $44,859 | Stable | $39,000 |
| Catering Manager * | $39,159 | $52,337 | $58,787 | Moderate decline | $50,960 |
| Crew | $24,278 | $27,040 | $31,200 | Moderate decline | $29,839 |
| Line Cook | $29,719 | $34,320 | $36,400 | Stable | $36,826 |
| Restaurant Manager/General Manager | $45,946 | $57,500 | $62,500 | Stable | $59,618 |
| Server | $27,614 | $31,194 | $33,759 | Stable | $35,012 |
| Shift Manager | $27,701 | $33,280 | $35,360 | Stable | $32,731 |
* 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
Local market conditions
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre's seasonally adjusted unemployment sat at 4.7% in July, running above both the 4.1% state and national rates, while Luzerne County registered 5.0% in September — a labor supply picture that is loosening even as Pennsylvania's $7.25 minimum wage freeze holds restaurant wage floors flat for a 17th straight year. Food service employment in Northeast PA grew 20% between 2020 and 2025, but regional food service workers still earn a median of $29,296 against a $33,478 national median, suggesting the hiring boom hasn't closed the local pay gap that likely drives churn.
What it means
Softening job openings nationally (673,000 in accommodation and food services by July, down from 916,000) and a smaller-than-usual September seasonal pullback locally point toward a labor market where candidate pools are modestly deeper but still tight at the entry-level, tipped-wage tier. With Pennsylvania's tipped cash wage locked at $2.83 and the 80/20 rule constraining back-of-house cross-utilization, labor cost control increasingly depends on scheduling precision rather than wage floor relief. Consider reviewing scheduling optimization and cross-training investments now, since neither state wage policy nor a dramatically looser labor market appears poised to ease cost pressure in the next two quarters.
Looking ahead
Expected: Watch whether Luzerne County's 5.0% unemployment rate and the metro's 4.7% reading converge or diverge over the next two monthly releases — a widening gap would signal uneven labor supply across the MSA's distribution-heavy versus hospitality-heavy submarkets.
Worth watching: National job openings in accommodation and food services have fallen from 916,000 to 673,000 since January; track whether this translates locally into faster fills for FOH roles or simply reflects fewer postings overall.
Emerging pressure point: Pennsylvania's H.B. 2189 minimum wage bill passed the House but remains stalled in the Senate — any movement there would be the first material change to the state's $7.25 floor in 17 years and would immediately reshape tipped-wage math for every Scranton operator.
Early indicator: National operators report 49% planning retention-strategy investment and 45% optimizing scheduling as labor-cost levers; expect regional franchise and multi-unit groups to signal similar shifts in Q4 budget planning as crew and server pay here lag national benchmarks.
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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