Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: St. George, UT MSA — September 2026
St. George keeps growing fastest in Utah — just not richest.
Washington County led Utah's largest counties with 2.3% year-over-year job growth, but average weekly wages of $1,016 still trail the national figure of $1,569 by roughly a third.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.8% — July 2026, up 0.1 pt from year ago
- Washington County job growth: 2.3% — Leads Utah's five largest counties, YoY
- County average weekly wage: $1,016 — vs $1,569 national average
- Utah unemployment rate: 3.5% — vs 4.1% national rate, August 2026
Key takeaways
Washington County is growing fastest, but not richest.
A 2.3% year-over-year employment gain leads Utah's largest counties, yet average weekly wages of $1,016 remain roughly a third below the national figure. Growth here still reads as volume-driven rather than value-driven, a relevant distinction for anyone marketing the metro's economic profile.
Construction and warehousing pay are softening even as other sectors firm up.
Warehouse/fulfillment advertised pay fell significantly locally while delivery driver pay dropped sharply, even as statewide job growth concentrates in professional/business services and healthcare. Divergence between local sector strength and the industries carrying statewide momentum is worth watching as a leading indicator of where the metro's growth may be headed next.
Skilled trades pay is accelerating faster locally than nationally.
HVAC technician and electrician advertised pay both posted significant local gains, outpacing national trends in the same occupations. That pattern is consistent with continued construction and population-driven demand even as broader construction job counts cool statewide.
Public-sector contraction statewide is a stability signal to monitor, not a crisis.
Utah government employment fell by 1,090 jobs tied to a $12.7 million budget shortfall and federal civilian reductions, a dynamic distinct from, but relevant to, Washington County's reliance on public payrolls as an economic stabilizer. No local WARN filings tied to government employers have surfaced yet, but the statewide trend merits continued tracking.
Median advertised pay by role — St. George, UT MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $26,031 | $32,286 | $34,850 | Moderate decline | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $24,960 | $29,307 | $30,922 | Stable | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $31,504 | $36,376 | $39,032 | Significant decline | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $58,392 | $81,887 | $93,600 | Moderate increase | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $29,120 | $33,280 | $35,742 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $35,538 | $40,560 | $43,680 | Stable | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $61,710 | $72,800 | $79,227 | Stable | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $33,280 | $37,440 | $41,080 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $30,671 | $35,404 | $38,480 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $28,655 | $36,140 | $37,523 | Significant increase | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $34,864 | $38,480 | $41,600 | Moderate decline | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $35,696 | $40,396 | $43,680 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $58,293 | $72,524 | $78,000 | Significant increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $77,457 | $90,251 | $93,600 | Stable | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $116,945 | $154,680 | $169,737 | Significant increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $108,809 | $136,819 | $152,821 | Moderate increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $54,080 | $62,956 | $70,000 | Moderate increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $75,376 | $98,892 | $107,503 | Stable | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $44,555 | $70,720 | $84,755 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $47,223 | $67,602 | $74,580 | Significant increase | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $72,997 | $82,974 | $95,108 | Significant increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $35,859 | $47,788 | $55,357 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $67,230 | $100,000 | $120,809 | Significant increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $46,118 | $54,301 | $55,000 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $80,379 | $94,205 | $102,731 | 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 | $55,949 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $96,662 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $37,500 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $52,328 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $134,939 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $76,047 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $71,436 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $40,560 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,554 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,994 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
St. George MSA unemployment held at 3.8% in July 2026, a tenth of a point above year-ago levels but still well inside the range of a resilient regional economy, even as Washington County continues to outpace Utah's four other largest counties in year-over-year employment growth at 2.3%. Local wage momentum is uneven — county average weekly wages rose 4.0% year-over-year through Q4 2025 to $1,016, still roughly 35% below the national average of $1,569, while statewide job growth concentrates in professional services and healthcare rather than the construction and warehousing activity that has historically anchored Washington County's expansion.
What it means
Local economic momentum remains positive on net, but the gap between Washington County's wage levels and the national average suggests the metro's growth is still built substantially on lower labor-cost industries rather than a shift toward higher-value sectors, a distinction that matters for how commerce leaders pitch the region to prospective employers or investors. Public-sector employment statewide is showing modest contraction tied to budget pressure, a signal worth tracking locally given government's role as a stabilizing wage floor in smaller metros. Current conditions suggest economic development messaging should distinguish between the metro's genuine job-growth leadership within Utah and its continued wage-level gap versus national benchmarks, rather than treating the two as a single story.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: July's metro unemployment uptick to 3.8% is small but directionally consistent with statewide cooling. Whether August-September metro data (once released) holds near 3.8% or continues drifting upward will clarify if this is seasonal noise or a genuine inflection.
Emerging pressure point: National wage growth has slipped to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation, eroding real purchasing power broadly. Local wage data lags this trend only partially — if Washington County's Q1 2026 wage figures (due later this year) show deceleration, local consumer spending momentum could soften alongside it.
Potential inflection point: Utah's information sector lost 2,300 jobs year-over-year statewide while professional/business services led gains. Tracking whether this divergence shows up in Washington County's smaller but growing professional-services base will indicate whether the metro is insulated from or exposed to sector-specific softness.
Early indicator: Statewide WARN filings fell 11% year-over-year with manufacturing and healthcare most affected, and the Tyson Fresh Meats notice in Eagle Mountain remains the largest single filing. No Washington County manufacturing or healthcare filings have appeared yet, but the statewide pattern is a reasonable leading indicator for local exposure.
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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