Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Tyler, TX MSA — September 2026
Tyler unemployment rises as investment pipeline stays active.
Smith County unemployment climbed from 3.8% to 4.5% and Tyler MSA nonfarm employment dipped 200 positions in September, even as YellaWood, Amazon, and a 280-acre business park signal continued capital commitment to the metro.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Tyler MSA unemployment rate: 4.2% — Up from recent readings; Texas statewide at 4.0%
- Smith County unemployment: 4.5% — Up from 3.8% prior reading
- Tyler MSA annual job growth: 1.4% — vs Texas 1.1% statewide annual growth
- Monthly nonfarm employment change: -200 jobs — Following months of steady ~100/month gains
Key takeaways
Tyler's unemployment rise outpaces the state's trajectory.
Smith County's jump from 3.8% to 4.5% unemployment is sharper than the statewide move from 3.9% to 4.0%, suggesting local softening is not simply tracking Texas-wide trends. Government and commerce leaders should treat this as a metro-specific signal worth independent monitoring, not noise within a stable state picture.
Job growth and monthly employment are moving in opposite directions.
Annual job growth of 1.4% coexists with a 200-position monthly decline, a pattern consistent with a plateau following a growth run rather than sustained expansion. This divergence matters for anyone using year-over-year figures alone to judge current momentum.
Named-employer investment continues despite softer headline numbers.
YellaWood and Amazon's recent moves into Smith County, plus the Economic Development Council's 280-acre business park build-out, indicate capital commitments are still flowing even as current employment counts cool. That combination — investment pipeline up, near-term headcount flat to down — is typical of a transition period rather than a downturn.
Wage divergence across sectors complicates a single metro narrative.
Manufacturing and healthcare advertised pay (Manufacturing Production Worker up significantly, Registered Nurse up significantly) moved opposite warehouse and delivery roles (both down), echoing the national split between hands-on and white-collar segments. Local economic health reads differently depending on which sector a commerce leader or policymaker is watching.
Median advertised pay by role — Tyler, TX MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $22,880 | $27,579 | $32,259 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $22,880 | $25,801 | $27,040 | Moderate decline | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $29,250 | $31,734 | $34,320 | Moderate decline | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $58,075 | $80,600 | $91,000 | Stable | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $28,760 | $33,730 | $38,480 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $31,130 | $33,280 | $35,360 | Stable | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $60,910 | $71,010 | $72,618 | Significant increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $31,660 | $38,468 | $44,262 | Significant increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $28,923 | $35,159 | $37,440 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $28,080 | $31,200 | $31,200 | Stable | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $30,667 | $34,320 | $38,685 | Moderate increase | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $28,666 | $36,400 | $39,520 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $47,646 | $57,132 | $59,280 | Significant decline | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $79,269 | $95,312 | $105,406 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $92,073 | $129,858 | $131,796 | Moderate decline | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $96,034 | $108,494 | $131,124 | Significant decline | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $55,500 | $65,000 | $70,000 | Stable | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst * | $72,922 | $93,298 | $101,911 | Moderate increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $45,977 | $67,471 | $77,311 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist | $37,069 | $61,938 | $63,105 | Significant increase | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,000 | $83,712 | $98,391 | Moderate decline | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $27,040 | $46,177 | $53,389 | Stable | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $54,501 | $71,319 | $86,871 | Significant increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $48,368 | $70,237 | $81,507 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $74,996 | $80,063 | $87,804 | 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 | $54,560 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $82,500 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $34,320 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $65,550 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $45,344 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $48,514 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $71,084 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $75,218 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,408 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $67,273 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Tyler MSA unemployment climbed to 4.2% in September with Smith County rising from 3.8% to 4.5%, while nonfarm employment slipped by 200 positions month-over-month even as the metro still posted 1.4% annual job growth driven by healthcare, manufacturing, and distribution expansion. Recent facility moves by YellaWood and Amazon, alongside 280-plus acres of new business-park development, signal longer-horizon investment even as the near-term employment trend cools.
What it means
Rising local unemployment alongside slower monthly job counts points to a labor market loosening faster than the state average, which should ease immediate hiring friction for employers but also suggests softer consumer demand locally as more residents compete for fewer net new positions. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion or relocation decisions should weigh the metro's available land and labor against this softening momentum rather than assume the healthcare- and logistics-driven growth story of 2025 continues unchanged. Consider reviewing local workforce participation and sector-level job counts over the next quarter before committing capital tied to assumptions of continued tight-labor conditions.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Smith County's unemployment increase from 3.8% to 4.5% is recent and should be checked against October TWC releases to determine whether it reflects a durable trend or a one-month statistical swing.
Early indicator: Whether the 280-acre business park development attracts confirmed tenants in coming weeks will offer a clearer read on whether current investment momentum (YellaWood, Amazon) translates into broader metro employment gains or remains concentrated in a few named projects.
Emerging pressure point: Distribution and manufacturing wage softness locally (Warehouse/Fulfillment and Delivery Driver both down) alongside national WARN activity concentrated in transportation and logistics warrants monitoring for whether Tyler's distribution-center employers (Target Distribution Center, Amazon) see any reduction in posted positions.
Potential inflection point: National wage growth sliding to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation puts regional purchasing power at risk; watch whether Tyler's advertised pay trends — currently mixed, with healthcare and manufacturing up but retail and distribution down — begin tracking that national real-wage erosion.
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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