Cleveland, TN holds steady as trades outpace office pay
3.3%
Bradley County unemployment
vs 4.1% U.S., 3.4% Tennessee (May-Aug 2026)
3.0% vs 3.4%
National wage growth vs inflation
Weakest wage pace since May 2021
0.9% (2026 proj.)
Tennessee annual job growth
Down from ~60,000/yr historical average
5,982+
Tennessee WARN-affected workers
Manufacturing, transport, automotive led filings
This Month's Takeaways
01
Skilled trades and logistics pay are pulling away from office roles.
Electrician, HVAC, and CDL driver pay posted significant local gains while administrative assistant and accountant pay fell, mirroring the national split between hands-on and white-collar labor demand. That divergence signals where local economic activity is concentrated — construction, transport, and industrial maintenance — rather than broad-based expansion across the business basket.
02
Low local unemployment coexists with statewide growth deceleration.
Bradley County unemployment near 3.3%-3.9% sits below both national (4.1%) and state (3.4%) benchmarks, yet Tennessee's overall job growth has slowed to roughly a third of its historical annual average. A tight local labor pool paired with slower statewide momentum may suggest the metro is holding steady on fundamentals even as the broader growth engine cools.
03
Warehouse and delivery pay softened even as trucking pay climbed.
Warehouse/fulfillment pay and delivery driver pay both moved down locally while CDL truck driver pay rose moderately, an uneven signal within the same logistics corridor. This may reflect differentiated demand for licensed, long-haul capacity versus local last-mile and fulfillment labor, worth watching as a read on regional freight and distribution activity.
04
Healthcare support growth is a structural, not cyclical, local signal.
Bradley County healthcare support occupations are projected as the metro's fastest-growing category even as registered nurse pay held flat and statewide health/education growth flattened to 0.2% year-over-year. Consistent demand at the support-occupation level amid flat wage movement suggests steady institutional hiring volume rather than a pay-driven surge.
Local Economic Conditions
Bradley County's unemployment rate held near 3.3%-3.9% through mid-2026, well below the 4.1% national and roughly in line with Tennessee's 3.4% reading, even as statewide job growth has cooled to less than half its historical pace. Local wage data shows a split economy: skilled trades like electricians and CDL drivers posted significant local pay gains while office-based roles such as administrative assistants and accountants moved down, a divergence consistent with the national pattern of hands-on sectors outpacing white-collar activity.
Open Threads in the Data
Tight local unemployment alongside uneven wage movement across the basket — up for logistics and skilled trades, down for administrative and professional roles — suggests the metro's labor market is reallocating rather than simply tightening or loosening uniformly. For commerce leaders assessing expansion timing, the combination of low joblessness and a thin available labor pool in trades and logistics may complicate growth plans tied to those sectors even as office-oriented investment faces less friction. Current conditions suggest monitoring sector-specific wage trends rather than a single metro-wide average when evaluating the local business climate for a planned expansion or relocation.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Cleveland, TN MSA metro — median advertised pay, its recent trend, and the number of active postings behind each figure. Jobs are grouped for readability and are not the same as the 10 sector classifications on the next page. For additional job detail contact WageScape.
Retail Trade
| Retail Sales Associate |
$27,040 |
↑ Moderate increase |
382 |
| Retail Cashier |
$25,118 |
→ Stable |
293 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$34,840 |
↓ Moderate decline |
96 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$83,590 |
↑ Moderate increase |
814 |
| Delivery Driver |
$35,870 |
↓ Moderate decline |
251 |
| Warehouse Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$35,984 |
↑ Moderate increase |
13 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$67,481 |
↑ Significant increase |
33 |
| HVAC Technician |
$57,541 |
↑ Significant increase |
13 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$34,320 |
↑ Moderate increase |
74 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$35,360 |
→ Stable |
30 |
| Operations Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$27,040 |
→ Stable |
26 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$34,320 |
→ Stable |
298 |
| Registered Nurse |
$81,430 |
→ Stable |
397 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$35,484 |
↓ Significant decline |
104 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
| Data Engineer |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$57,006 |
↓ Moderate decline |
10 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$58,717 |
↓ Moderate decline |
26 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$60,000 |
→ Stable |
632 |
| Business Analyst |
$95,462 |
→ Stable |
1,554 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$52,163 |
↑ Significant increase |
248 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$34,479 |
↓ Significant decline |
20 |
Industry Snapshot · Cleveland, TN MSA
Advertised pay and job-posting trends across the whole metro economy, rolled up by employer industry — not just the bellwether roles above.
| Sector |
Median Pay Change |
Job Postings Change |
| Construction |
↑ +9.3% |
↑ +87.9% |
| Manufacturing |
→ −1.1% |
↑ +168.4% |
| Retail Trade |
↑ +16.6% |
↑ +94.7% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↑ +21.6% |
↑ +178.9% |
| Information |
↓ −41.2% |
↓ −17.3% |
| Financial Activities |
↑ +57.8% |
↓ −30.0% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↓ −30.7% |
↑ +145.4% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +10.1% |
↑ +55.1% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
↓ −6.3% |
↑ +118.7% |
| Government |
↑ +77.7% |
↑ +880.0% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Worth watching
Tennessee WARN filings have reached nearly 6,000 affected workers statewide in 2026, concentrated in manufacturing, transportation, and automotive — sectors with a presence in Bradley County's employer base. Watch whether any filings touch the Cleveland metro directly given its manufacturing and logistics concentration.
Expected
National wage growth has slipped to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation, the weakest pace since 2021. If that gap persists, expect softer consumer spending signals to show up locally given the metro's retail and hospitality exposure, even with wages holding up better here than the national average in several trades.
Potential inflection point
Nashville's job growth, driven by large-scale tech investment, continues to pull job creation toward the state's largest metro while smaller markets like Cleveland lag. Local economic development leaders may find this a useful benchmark when positioning Bradley County's cost and labor advantages relative to Nashville's tighter, pricier market.
Early indicator
Healthcare support occupations are set to lead local job growth, a pattern distinct from the statewide flattening in education and health employment. Divergence between county-level and state-level healthcare signals is worth tracking over the next two months to see which trend holds.
Sources & Methodology
Pay and hiring data provided by WageScape. See every source cited in this report, with links →
Advertised pay reflects the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro, not survey or payroll data. Pay trends compare the current period with the prior period for the same metro and role. Sector figures group postings by the employer's industry classification; sectors with limited classified postings are marked as such rather than estimated. This briefing is independent of, and complements, official statistics from the BLS and state labor market information offices.
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