Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Williamsport, PA MSA — September 2026
Williamsport manufacturing and freight pay outrun a cooling state economy.
Williamsport's 3.8% unemployment rate and 2.7% manufacturing job growth stand apart from Pennsylvania's statewide slowdown, while local CDL driver pay hit a $90,000 median, 15% above the national figure.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.8% — vs 4.1% PA, 4.2% national (Sept 2026)
- Manufacturing employment growth: +2.7% YoY — 7.7K jobs, metro, as of July 2026
- CDL driver advertised pay: $90,000 median — vs $78,000 national median
- PA WARN-affected workers: 1,899 workers — 17 notices, past 90 days statewide
Key takeaways
Manufacturing holds up locally while the state sector cools.
Lycoming County manufacturing employment grew 2.7% year-over-year even as Pennsylvania lost jobs in construction, government, and trade/transportation combined since August 2025. Local economic developers should treat this as a metro-specific strength worth highlighting, not an assumption that statewide manufacturing trends apply uniformly.
Driver pay surge may signal freight activity tied to local production.
CDL truck driver advertised pay reached a $90,000 metro median, 15% above the $78,000 national figure, consistent with logistics demand supporting manufacturing and distribution in the region. This divergence is worth tracking as an early signal of whether local freight volume is strengthening ahead of broader hiring data.
Healthcare wage gains outpace inflation, unlike the national pattern.
Registered nurse and CNA/home health aide pay both posted significant local increases, aligning with Pennsylvania's statewide health and education sector hitting record employment. Given national real wages are no longer keeping pace with 3.4% inflation, Williamsport's healthcare wage momentum may represent a comparatively durable pocket of purchasing power.
Construction labor pay rising despite statewide sector contraction.
Construction laborer advertised pay in the metro rose significantly even as Pennsylvania construction employment sits below year-ago levels and investment-sensitive sectors contract statewide. Commerce leaders weighing local development timelines should treat this as a signal of tight, not necessarily expanding, local construction capacity.
Median advertised pay by role — Williamsport, PA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $22,473 | $28,058 | $32,240 | Moderate increase | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $23,890 | $30,712 | $31,858 | Stable | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $33,554 | $42,640 | $42,640 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $62,804 | $90,000 | $98,800 | Significant increase | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $32,242 | $38,480 | $44,720 | Moderate decline | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $29,640 | $38,156 | $39,520 | Significant increase | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $58,003 | $64,896 | $67,704 | Stable | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $33,443 | $37,960 | $40,264 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $26,520 | $35,172 | $38,479 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $27,785 | $33,800 | $34,320 | Moderate increase | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $31,200 | $37,555 | $45,517 | Significant increase | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $35,270 | $40,595 | $43,940 | Moderate increase | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician * | $59,358 | $70,760 | $78,000 | Moderate increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $86,320 | $105,824 | $115,856 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer * | $111,718 | $148,564 | $162,683 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $99,171 | $131,431 | $149,994 | Stable | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $56,102 | $60,156 | $63,273 | Stable | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $79,019 | $80,433 | $88,514 | Significant increase | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager * | $56,586 | $70,000 | $81,860 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $49,487 | $62,371 | $70,265 | Stable | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $71,998 | $82,960 | $98,931 | Stable | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $32,423 | $47,658 | $55,677 | Moderate increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $31,075 | $65,279 | $81,283 | Significant increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $52,917 | $74,000 | $81,500 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $80,206 | $96,244 | $107,000 | 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 | $54,742 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $62,000 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $32,474 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $51,844 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Information | $42,827 | Significant increase | Stable |
| Financial Activities | $42,640 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $50,218 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $47,658 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $29,848 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,210 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Williamsport's unemployment rate held near 3.8% through mid-2026, roughly four-tenths below the national 4.2% September reading, with manufacturing employment up 2.7% year-over-year on the strength of engine and parts production tied to Lycoming Engines and its supply chain. Labor force participation has stabilized near 53,000-53,700 workers after early-2026 softness, even as national hiring cooled to 29,000 net jobs in September and Pennsylvania's own rate ticked up to 4.1% amid construction and government job losses statewide.
What it means
Manufacturing's local resilience, paired with advertised CDL driver pay climbing to a $90,000 metro median (versus $78,000 nationally), appears to reflect freight and logistics demand tied to regional production activity rather than a broad-based hiring surge. Commerce leaders evaluating site expansion or supplier investment should weigh this against statewide construction-sector contraction, which could affect project timelines and input costs; government and institutional stakeholders may find current conditions suggest a window to assess whether local wage gains in healthcare and skilled trades are outpacing the 3.4% national inflation rate enough to support sustained consumer spending.
Looking ahead
Expected data release: Pennsylvania's September metro-level employment figures for Williamsport are due October 27, offering the first confirmed read on whether the 3.8% unemployment rate held through late summer. Press and government economists should treat current figures as provisional until then.
Worth watching: Pennsylvania's 17 WARN notices over the past 90 days affected nearly 1,900 workers statewide, concentrated outside Lycoming County so far. Monitor whether logistics or retail disruptions elsewhere in the state begin to show up in regional filings.
Emerging pressure point: Labor force dropouts rose sharply statewide, from roughly 8,000 in early 2025 to over 15,000 by Q3 2025, a trend that could constrain available workers for the metro's growing manufacturing and healthcare employers if it persists locally.
Policy to monitor: Pennsylvania's House-passed minimum wage increase remains stalled in the Senate; any movement would affect advertised pay floors across retail and food service roles that make up a meaningful share of the metro's job postings.
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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