Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ MSA — September 2026
Vineland unemployment climbs to 7.2% as state, nation hold steadier.
Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton's jobless rate rose to 7.2% in August from 6.4% in June, nearly double the national rate of 4.1%, even as healthcare and skilled-trades pay continued climbing locally.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 7.2% — Up from 6.4% in June 2026; vs 4.1% national
- Metro employment level: 60.6K — Down from 61.5K peak in June 2026
- New Jersey unemployment rate: 5.2% — Highest since early 2022; vs 4.1% national
- National wage growth (avg hourly earnings): 3.0% YoY — Below 3.4% inflation; lowest since May 2021
Key takeaways
Vineland's jobless rate is diverging from state and national trends.
Metro unemployment rose nearly a full point between June and August 2026, far outpacing New Jersey's own increase to 5.2%. That gap, if it persists into Q4 data, points to local structural softness rather than a shared statewide pattern.
Healthcare pay keeps rising while trucking and logistics pay retreats.
Registered Nurse and CNA/Home Health Aide pay both moved up moderately, echoing the statewide pattern of education and health services carrying nearly all of New Jersey's net job growth. CDL Truck Driver and Delivery Driver pay fell by moderate-to-significant margins locally, consistent with national freight softness bleeding into a metro built partly around trucking and distribution.
Skilled trades pay is splitting, not uniformly rising.
HVAC Technician and Construction Laborer pay rose significantly locally, while Electrician pay fell moderately even as the national Electrician figure climbed. That split suggests localized demand concentrated in specific trades rather than a broad-based construction rebound worth citing as evidence of a hiring boom.
Professional-services pay is inconsistent enough to complicate the growth narrative.
Accountant pay rose significantly locally while Financial Analyst and Account Manager pay fell significantly, both diverging sharply from national direction. Commerce leaders citing this metro's white-collar strength to prospective employers should note the pattern is narrow, not sector-wide.
Median advertised pay by role — Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $26,124 | $33,405 | $35,194 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $27,958 | $32,805 | $33,602 | Moderate decline | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $32,398 | $38,293 | $39,520 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $60,000 | $78,589 | $94,000 | Moderate decline | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $33,125 | $33,826 | $37,357 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $34,594 | $41,600 | $41,975 | Significant increase | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $63,765 | $67,600 | $75,074 | Moderate decline | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $34,320 | $35,452 | $37,016 | Moderate increase | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $36,400 | $42,640 | $45,760 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $30,684 | $33,259 | $33,259 | Significant decline | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $36,899 | $45,240 | $47,840 | Moderate increase | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $38,480 | $43,680 | $50,960 | Moderate increase | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $69,188 | $71,967 | $81,500 | Significant increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $83,641 | $104,575 | $120,640 | Moderate increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $134,919 | $134,919 | $134,919 | Stable | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $102,460 | $136,070 | $158,000 | Stable | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $63,773 | $83,200 | $87,500 | Significant increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $67,474 | $73,339 | $89,331 | Significant decline | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $59,775 | $66,560 | $74,813 | Moderate decline | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $50,000 | $67,991 | $79,766 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $70,000 | $95,263 | $119,515 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $39,000 | $58,463 | $64,000 | Stable | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $38,530 | $58,860 | $90,000 | Significant decline | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $59,580 | $90,000 | $95,580 | Stable | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $84,513 | $103,425 | $116,307 | 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 | $55,120 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $106,106 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $37,591 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $40,326 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $49,124 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $51,740 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $52,960 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $54,882 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $31,950 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $71,414 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton's unemployment rate climbed to 7.2% in August 2026, up from 6.4% in June, even as the metro's employment level slipped to 60.6 thousand from a June peak of 61.5 thousand, a divergence from the national rate holding at 4.1-4.2% and New Jersey's 4.3-5.2% range depending on the month measured. Seasonal softening in leisure, trade and transportation — sectors tied to the region's agricultural and logistics calendar — combines with statewide goods-sector weakness to put this metro meaningfully behind both state and national momentum.
What it means
Widening gap between Vineland's 7.2% jobless rate and the national 4.1-4.2% rate signals a local economy decelerating faster than its surroundings, a relevant data point for site-selection and investment conversations commerce leaders have with prospective employers or expanding businesses. Wage movement in the advertised data is uneven — accountants and HVAC technicians up significantly while CDL drivers, electricians and financial analysts post notable declines — consistent with a local economy where healthcare, skilled trades and professional services hold ground while transportation and logistics-adjacent work softens alongside national freight and e-commerce pressures. Local officials and chamber leaders should consider cross-referencing this month's unemployment uptick against Cumberland County's seasonal agricultural employment calendar before treating it as a structural signal rather than a cyclical one.
Looking ahead
Potential inflection point: Watch whether the August unemployment jump to 7.2% holds or reverses in the September/October BLS release. A reversal would support a seasonal-agriculture explanation; a continued climb would point to broader local softening worth flagging to state workforce officials.
Worth watching: New Jersey's statewide reliance on education and health services for job growth (nearly all net 12-month gains) raises the question of whether Vineland's own healthcare wage strength (RN, CNA pay both up) is similarly carrying the metro's broader numbers.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide WARN filings are up 42% in count through July 2026, and New Jersey's unemployment outlook is projected to sit near 5.2% for two years. Local chambers should track whether any of the state's larger WARN filings (Bristol Myers Squibb, WG Wonder Group) touch Cumberland-area suppliers or logistics partners.
Early indicator: National and state data show immigration-driven population growth slowing amid tighter enforcement, a bare demographic fact relevant to Cumberland County given its younger, more Hispanic population base. Local economic developers may want to monitor county population and labor-force participation data for early signs of this national trend reaching the metro.
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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