Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Wichita, KS MSA — October 2026
Wichita manufacturing holds steady as statewide workforce shrinks.
Kansas labor force participation fell to 66.4% in September even as unemployment held at 3.8%, while Wichita's manufacturing sector -- double the national employment share -- leans on overtime to meet demand with current staff.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Kansas labor force participation: 66.4% — Down from prior month, signals workforce exit
- Kansas unemployment rate: 3.8% — Unchanged since August and year-ago
- Wichita manufacturing employment share: 18.12% — vs 8.8% national average
- Kansas nonfarm payrolls, monthly change: -2,100 — Private sector -2,300, government +200
Key takeaways
Manufacturing holds steady on hours, with headcount unchanged.
Kansas manufacturers are adding overtime and shifts while holding payrolls steady, per the Fed's October Beige Book, consistent with Wichita's outsized manufacturing base (18.12% of metro employment) operating near capacity on current staff. This pattern signals resilience in the metro's core industry without the broader hiring expansion that would typically accompany strong sector performance.
Participation decline deserves more attention than the jobless rate.
Kansas labor force participation fell to 66.4% in September while unemployment held flat at 3.8%, meaning the stable headline rate masks people exiting the labor force while the jobs-finding picture stays separate. Economic development messaging built solely around a low unemployment rate risks overstating labor market strength to prospective employers evaluating the metro.
Wage gains concentrate in skilled trades and healthcare.
Advertised pay for HVAC technicians and registered nurses shows significant local increases, while retail sales associate and food service worker pay moved down or stayed flat. Divergence suggests capacity-constrained sectors are bidding up pay for scarce skills even as consumer-facing service wages soften, a pattern worth weighing against statewide data showing wage growth barely outpacing five-year cumulative inflation.
County-level unemployment swings complicate the local narrative.
Sedgwick County unemployment data has ranged from 3.5% to 4.7% across recent months, a spread wide enough to caution against drawing firm conclusions from any single monthly county figure. Leaders citing local unemployment publicly should anchor claims to multi-month trends or state-level figures where possible.
Median advertised pay by role — Wichita, KS MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $22,795 | $27,040 | $30,592 | Moderate decline | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $22,880 | $26,767 | $29,338 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $29,120 | $34,912 | $37,440 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $52,363 | $74,287 | $86,410 | Moderate increase | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $25,410 | $31,783 | $39,000 | Stable | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $32,528 | $37,440 | $41,600 | Moderate increase | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $56,391 | $68,596 | $74,880 | Stable | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $31,200 | $37,440 | $41,600 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $29,120 | $35,360 | $38,906 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $26,400 | $29,120 | $32,240 | Moderate decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $31,961 | $35,963 | $38,201 | Stable | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $31,321 | $38,598 | $41,382 | Moderate increase | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician | $52,520 | $65,000 | $70,949 | Significant increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $82,238 | $106,111 | $120,164 | Significant increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer | $104,918 | $147,729 | $164,432 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer | $90,125 | $105,950 | $125,688 | Significant decline | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $54,273 | $61,806 | $69,762 | Moderate increase | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $72,708 | $86,960 | $109,375 | Significant increase | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $49,290 | $55,676 | $57,913 | Moderate decline | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist | $42,607 | $65,000 | $77,124 | Significant increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $64,375 | $75,000 | $75,295 | Significant increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $27,040 | $41,600 | $50,225 | Stable | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $64,480 | $77,720 | $100,000 | Stable | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $63,231 | $66,655 | $67,439 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $67,414 | $84,550 | $91,011 | Significant increase | $98,302 |
* 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 | $53,153 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
| Manufacturing | $75,482 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $33,070 | Stable | Stable |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $50,728 | Moderate increase | Significant decline |
| Information | $110,365 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $56,249 | Stable | Moderate increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $75,621 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $90,455 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $30,371 | Stable | Moderate increase |
| Government | $62,808 | Significant increase | Significant decline |
Local market conditions
Sedgwick County unemployment held near 3.5% in the most recent count even as county-level figures earlier in summer touched 4.7%, a divergence that reflects the volatility of monthly local estimates and does not indicate a clear trend break, while Kansas statewide unemployment stayed flat at 3.8% through September. Wichita's manufacturing base, which accounts for 18.12% of metro employment versus 8.8% nationally, continues to anchor local labor demand, aligning with the Kansas City Fed's October Beige Book finding that area manufacturers are extending hours and shifts to meet demand with current staff amid limited worker availability.
What it means
Statewide labor force participation slipped to 66.4% in September even as Kansas nonfarm payrolls contracted by 2,100 jobs month-over-month, a combination that points to workforce withdrawal as the primary driver, with demand holding steadier than the headline suggests -- a distinction that matters for how commerce and economic development leaders read the headline numbers. Wichita's manufacturing concentration, double the national share, means the metro's economic trajectory is exposed to sector-specific labor constraints more than to economy-wide softening, and local wage data showing significant gains for HVAC technicians (up to $65,000) and registered nurses (up to $106,111) suggests employers in capacity-constrained trades and healthcare are competing hardest for available workers. Economic development leaders should consider whether current business-attraction messaging around labor availability reflects this tightening in skilled trades and healthcare, even as participation data suggests slack elsewhere in the workforce.
Looking ahead
Expected release: Kansas Department of Labor publishes October 2026 state labor figures on November 20, which will be the first chance to confirm whether September's participation decline and payroll contraction continued or reversed.
Worth watching: National information, professional/business services, and financial activities sectors shed jobs in September; watch whether any of this white-collar softening shows up in Wichita's professional services employment, which gained modestly at the state level in September.
Emerging pressure point: Data center buildout activity is reported to be competing with manufacturers for limited Kansas workforce capacity, per the Fed's Beige Book. Commerce leaders evaluating new capital projects locally should weigh labor availability alongside incentives as a potential binding constraint on timeline.
Policy signal: Federal labor force growth has slowed amid reduced immigration flows and baby boom retirements, a structural dynamic distinct from any single policy debate. Local economic development planning should account for slower regional workforce growth as a baseline condition, treating it as an ongoing feature rather than a temporary cyclical dip.
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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