Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Springfield, MO MSA — September 2026
Springfield unemployment at 3.2% while payrolls edge lower.
Springfield MSA unemployment fell to 3.2% in September even as nonfarm payrolls slipped by 1,000 to 238,100, a divergence that tracks Missouri's statewide dip to a 25-year-low 3.2% jobless rate amid cooling national hiring of just 29,000 jobs.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Springfield MSA unemployment: 3.2% — Down from 4.2% in August; Missouri also at 3.2%
- Springfield nonfarm payrolls: 238,100 — Down 1,000 jobs month-over-month
- Missouri job postings, YoY: -11.7% — 70,510 (July 2026) vs. 79,830 (July 2025)
- National payroll growth: 29,000 — Well below 12-month average of 45,000
Key takeaways
Lower jobless rate doesn't mean a stronger local economy.
Springfield's unemployment rate fell to 3.2% in September while payrolls simultaneously dropped by 1,000 jobs to 238,100 — a pattern more consistent with labor force contraction than renewed hiring strength. Public statements built solely on the unemployment figure risk overstating momentum.
Statewide hiring is narrow, favoring trades over offices.
Missouri's September gains concentrated in durable goods manufacturing (+2,200), construction (+1,300), and transportation/warehousing (+1,200), mirroring national divergence where health care, construction, and manufacturing added jobs while government and finance shed them. Springfield's business mix suggests local momentum, if any, is following this same hands-on-sector pattern rather than lifting white-collar activity broadly.
Job postings are falling even as the jobless rate falls.
Missouri job postings declined 11.7% year-over-year (70,510 in July 2026 versus 79,830 a year earlier), with heavy truck driver postings up 104% but retail down 39%. That split signals the state's labor market is tightening in specific pockets, not loosening or strengthening uniformly, which matters for any claim about overall business climate.
Wage growth locally still trails inflation and the nation.
Greene County's $1,150 average weekly wage and the metro's $904.48 private-sector average both sit below national benchmarks, while national real average hourly earnings fell 0.1% year-over-year through August. Local purchasing power is unlikely to be expanding even where nominal pay figures show gains.
Median advertised pay by role — Springfield, MO MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $26,205 | $32,240 | $36,400 | Moderate increase | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $26,126 | $30,220 | $31,720 | Moderate increase | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,832 | $34,655 | $38,480 | Moderate decline | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $57,000 | $74,632 | $85,211 | Stable | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $28,657 | $33,259 | $39,000 | Stable | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $30,471 | $39,433 | $41,600 | Stable | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $58,926 | $69,008 | $74,476 | Significant increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $31,568 | $35,360 | $37,348 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $31,899 | $36,158 | $39,520 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $28,666 | $31,200 | $33,280 | Stable | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $31,569 | $36,098 | $39,666 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $33,196 | $39,659 | $42,923 | Moderate increase | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $53,500 | $59,578 | $67,464 | Stable | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $84,424 | $100,763 | $107,548 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $93,962 | $128,307 | $148,706 | Significant increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $79,662 | $119,443 | $127,927 | Stable | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $50,884 | $62,039 | $67,500 | Moderate increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $64,350 | $84,461 | $89,963 | Moderate increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $50,021 | $57,107 | $61,790 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $40,555 | $51,014 | $62,500 | Significant increase | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $66,901 | $72,348 | $84,395 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $32,240 | $45,215 | $51,466 | Moderate increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $55,095 | $80,000 | $91,352 | Moderate increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $75,000 | $87,991 | $103,119 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $79,524 | $102,750 | $118,808 | Moderate decline | $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 | $48,515 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $56,909 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $43,085 | Significant increase | Moderate decline |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $58,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $103,642 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $51,425 | Moderate decline | Moderate increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $70,100 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $67,698 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,206 | Moderate decline | Significant decline |
| Government | $64,348 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
Local market conditions
Springfield's unemployment rate dropped to 3.2% in September even as nonfarm payroll employment edged down by 1,000 jobs to 238,100, a combination that appears to reflect labor force exits or seasonal adjustment as much as genuine tightening. Statewide momentum in durable goods manufacturing, construction, and transportation/warehousing is consistent with national sector divergence favoring hands-on industries, while Missouri's flat 63.3% labor force participation rate and a 11.7% year-over-year drop in job postings suggest selective, not broad-based, demand across the metro's goods-and-services economy.
What it means
Falling unemployment alongside falling payroll counts is a signal economic development leaders should treat cautiously rather than celebrate outright — it is more consistent with a shrinking or static labor pool than with a surge in business activity. Commerce leaders weighing expansion or relocation incentives should look past the headline unemployment rate to payroll counts and sector-level postings data, since Missouri's statewide job-posting decline (truck driving up 104%, retail down 39%) shows demand is narrowly concentrated rather than broad. Consider cross-referencing local payroll trends against labor force participation before characterizing the metro's current conditions as either expansionary or contractionary in public statements.
Looking ahead
Data lag watch: September metro-level payroll and wage detail for Springfield remains incomplete in public BLS releases, with state-level LAUS data not due until October 20. Treat this month's unemployment improvement as provisional until fuller figures confirm the trend.
Potential inflection point: National payroll growth slowed sharply to 29,000 in September with downward revisions to July and August totaling 60,000. Watch whether Missouri's stronger relative performance (3,300 jobs added, 3.2% unemployment) holds or converges toward the national slowdown in coming releases.
Policy-relevant signal: Missouri's natural population growth has turned negative, with 60% of recent population gains coming from international migration, a demographic fact directly relevant to labor force participation discussions. Any shift in federal immigration enforcement posture is a bare fact worth tracking for its effect on regional labor supply, independent of policy positions.
Sector to monitor: Statewide retail job postings fell 39% year-over-year while heavy truck driving postings surged, a divergence that commerce leaders should watch for signs of whether it appears in Springfield's own retail and logistics footprint given the metro's concentration in trade and transportation.
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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