Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Warner Robins, GA MSA — September 2026
Warner Robins wages climb as government payrolls contract.
Houston County unemployment held at 2.9% in July even as Warner Robins MSA employment fell 1.6% on a 7.3% government-sector pullback, while weekly wages rose 4.3% — outpacing the 3.0% national wage-growth rate.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Houston County unemployment: 2.9% — vs 4.2% U.S., 3.2% Georgia (July/Aug 2026)
- MSA weekly wage growth: 4.3% — vs 3.0% U.S., 3.3% Georgia statewide
- MSA government employment: -7.3% YoY — Q1 2026, steeper than GA federal loss of 9,400 jobs
- MSA total employment: -1.6% YoY — 75,448 vs 76,652 jobs, Q1 2026
Key takeaways
Fewer jobs, higher pay — a reallocation story, not a downturn.
Warner Robins MSA employment fell 1.6% even as weekly wages jumped 4.3%, a pattern consistent with workers shifting out of contracting government roles into tighter, better-paying private-sector positions rather than broad job losses.
Federal workforce adjustment is the metro's defining swing factor.
Government employment dropped 7.3% year-over-year locally, steeper than the 9,400 federal jobs Georgia lost statewide, underscoring how exposed Warner Robins remains to federal budget and staffing decisions given Robins AFB's regional weight.
Financial services wage surge outpaces every other local sector.
Weekly wages in financial services rose 13.3% locally, far ahead of government's 9.6% and professional services' 4.8%, hinting at a small but fast-growing segment of higher-wage activity diversifying the metro's traditionally defense- and manufacturing-heavy base.
Sub-3% unemployment leaves little slack for rapid local expansion.
Houston County's 2.9% jobless rate sits well below the 4.2% national figure, meaning new investment or facility announcements locally will draw from an already tight labor pool rather than idle capacity.
Median advertised pay by role — Warner Robins, GA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $21,813 | $27,501 | $31,259 | Moderate decline | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $21,460 | $24,705 | $26,626 | Moderate decline | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $29,117 | $34,127 | $35,078 | Moderate increase | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $61,752 | $84,500 | $92,500 | Moderate increase | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $26,289 | $30,423 | $32,057 | Significant decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $30,160 | $35,360 | $35,360 | Significant increase | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $60,718 | $67,330 | $70,614 | Moderate increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $34,704 | $39,062 | $63,959 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $28,577 | $33,306 | $36,892 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $28,968 | $40,654 | $41,080 | Significant increase | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $29,586 | $33,280 | $34,081 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $30,959 | $39,340 | $42,657 | Significant increase | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician | $48,802 | $61,759 | $62,435 | Significant increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $85,005 | $100,174 | $108,021 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer | $92,613 | $125,678 | $137,372 | Significant increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer | $91,986 | $125,276 | $157,789 | Significant increase | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $70,058 | $70,981 | $76,500 | Significant increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst * | $66,944 | $90,889 | $98,907 | Stable | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager * | $54,965 | $68,969 | $80,668 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $46,361 | $59,253 | $70,614 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $65,000 | $81,400 | $91,730 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $25,108 | $40,035 | $44,609 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $69,499 | $87,500 | $90,000 | Significant increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $54,937 | $80,500 | $99,000 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $80,206 | $96,510 | $107,200 | 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 | $45,453 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $92,350 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $33,708 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $64,938 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $108,750 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $47,840 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $81,605 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $75,970 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $27,385 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $67,687 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Houston County's unemployment rate held at 2.9% in July, nearly a full point below the national 4.2% reading, even as Warner Robins MSA total employment slipped 1.6% year-over-year in the first quarter on a 7.3% contraction in government payrolls tied to federal workforce adjustments. Leisure/hospitality (+3.8%) and professional/business services (+2.2%) absorbed much of that shift, while metro weekly wages rose a robust 4.3% — outpacing both the 3.3% statewide gain and the 3.0% national wage-growth figure, suggesting a tightening labor pool despite the headline job count decline.
What it means
Government payroll contraction alongside falling overall employment but rising wages points to a reshuffling labor market rather than a weakening one — fewer total positions chasing a labor force that remains scarce enough to keep pay climbing, a dynamic distinct from the national pattern where wage growth is cooling toward a five-year low. For commerce leaders evaluating local expansion, the combination of sub-3% unemployment and above-average wage growth signals a competitive labor pool but one still anchored by Robins AFB-linked stability rather than broad economic softening. Government economists and chamber leaders should consider tracking whether Houston County's wage-vs-employment divergence persists through Q3 data, as it may indicate the metro is absorbing federal-sector adjustment without the consumer-spending pullback seen nationally.
Looking ahead
Expected: Q3 Warner Robins MSA employment and wage data should clarify whether the 1.6% job decline was a one-quarter federal-adjustment blip or the start of a longer government-sector contraction.
Worth watching: National WARN filings naming Amazon, Meta, Oracle and other large employers have not yet surfaced locally; any Georgia manufacturing or logistics notices tied to the 1,077 historical manufacturing WARN filings statewide merit tracking for metro spillover.
Potential inflection point: National wage growth has slowed to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation, eroding real purchasing power; if Warner Robins' 4.3% local wage gain converges toward the national trend, consumer spending momentum locally could soften.
Emerging pressure point: Continued federal government payroll adjustment nationally (financial activities down 129,000 since a 2025 peak, government down 216,000 over the year) raises the question of whether Robins AFB-linked civilian employment faces further near-term contraction.
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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