{"schema_version": 1, "id": "colorado-springs-co-msa/restaurant-industry/2026-09", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 125, "label": "Colorado Springs, CO MSA", "slug": "colorado-springs-co-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "restaurant_industry", "slug": "restaurant-industry", "label": "Restaurant Industry"}, "period": "2026-09", "public_after": "2026-09-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T13:33:00.654837+00:00", "headline": "Colorado Springs management pay splits as catering surges, GM pay cools.", "headline_summary": "Catering Manager advertised pay has climbed to $60,400 \u2014 19% above the national median \u2014 while Restaurant Manager/GM pay softens to $60,742 against a backdrop of Colorado's wage floor rising to $15.71 in January.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Colorado minimum wage, Jan 2027", "value": "$15.71/hr", "context": "Up from $15.16; tipped floor rises to $12.69"}, {"label": "El Paso County unemployment trend", "value": "~4.1%", "context": "Rising from 3.8% in May 2026"}, {"label": "National food service job openings", "value": "673,000", "context": "Down from 916,000 in January 2026"}, {"label": "Colorado restaurant wage growth since 2020", "value": "34%", "context": "Yet hiring remains difficult statewide"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Catering Manager pay is pulling away from the national pack.", "body": "Metro median of $60,400 sits roughly 19% above the $50,960 national figure and is trending up significantly, while general manager pay moves the opposite direction. This divergence suggests banquet and events demand is outpacing day-to-day restaurant management as a compensation priority locally."}, {"headline": "GM and Assistant Manager pay are softening at the same time.", "body": "Both roles show moderate downward movement locally and nationally \u2014 Restaurant Manager/GM at $60,742 versus $59,618 national, Assistant Manager at $40,790 versus $39,000 national. Parallel declines across two management tiers may reflect easing competition for leadership roles rather than a single employer's pay decision."}, {"headline": "Colorado's January wage step compounds an already rising floor.", "body": "Statewide minimum rises from $15.16 to $15.71 on January 1, a 3.6% jump layered on top of wages already up 34% since 2020. Operators budgeting for 2027 should model this increase now rather than treating it as a routine annual adjustment."}, {"headline": "Hourly roles look stable while management pay realigns.", "body": "Crew, Line Cook, Server, and Shift Manager pay are all flat this month, even as management compensation shifts meaningfully in both directions. Stability at the hourly level may reflect a labor pool that has adjusted to recent wage floor increases, leaving management compensation as the more active lever for 2026 budget decisions."}], "local_conditions": "Colorado Springs restaurant employers are navigating a tightening statewide wage floor ($15.16/hour, rising to $15.71 in January) against a metro labor pool constrained by slower population growth and El Paso County unemployment that has ticked up toward 4.1% alongside the state's third consecutive month of job losses. Seasonal softening typical of September \u2014 as student workers exit the labor pool \u2014 is intersecting with a national moderation in restaurant job openings, suggesting candidate scarcity may persist even as overall hiring urgency cools.", "implications": "Falling job openings nationally (673,000 in July versus 916,000 in January) signal reduced competition for entry-level talent, but Colorado's mandated January wage step to $15.71 means labor cost planning cannot rely on softer hiring conditions alone to offset payroll growth. Catering Manager pay climbing 19% above national median while GM and Assistant Manager pay softens locally points to uneven demand across the management tier rather than broad-based wage relief. Consider reviewing management-tier compensation structures role by role rather than applying a flat percentage adjustment across the leadership team.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Expected policy shift", "body": "Colorado's minimum wage increase to $15.71 ($12.69 tipped) takes effect January 1, 2027. Operators should finalize 2027 labor cost projections before year-end budget cycles close."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "El Paso County unemployment has drifted toward 4.1% alongside three straight months of statewide job losses. Watch whether this loosens the candidate pool for back-of-house roles or simply reflects slower population growth suppressing both supply and demand."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "National accommodation and food services job openings have fallen from 916,000 to 673,000 since January, suggesting reduced hiring urgency industry-wide. Confirm whether local time-to-fill metrics are tracking this national cooling before easing recruitment spend."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Catering Manager pay's sharp local rise against flat national movement may signal a Colorado Springs-specific events and banquet demand surge. Monitor whether this spreads to adjacent FOH leadership roles or remains isolated to catering."}], "roles": [{"role": "Assistant Restaurant Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 32268.0, "metro_p50": 40789.6, "metro_p75": 48185.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 39000.0, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Catering Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 47500.0, "metro_p50": 60400.0, "metro_p75": 62500.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 50960.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Crew", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 28127.0, "metro_p50": 33280.0, "metro_p75": 35360.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 29839.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Line Cook", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 33505.0, "metro_p50": 37440.0, "metro_p75": 39520.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 36826.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Restaurant Manager/General Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 49407.0, "metro_p50": 60742.2, "metro_p75": 65000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 59618.0, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Server", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 27664.0, "metro_p50": 34299.0, "metro_p75": 36566.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 35012.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Shift Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 30894.0, "metro_p50": 36109.0, "metro_p75": 38480.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 32731.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [], "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.", "edition_label": "October 2026", "files": {"html": "colorado-springs-co-msa/restaurant-industry/2026-09.html", "pdf": "colorado-springs-co-msa/restaurant-industry/2026-09.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T13:49:38.626798+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/colorado-springs-co-msa/restaurant-industry/2026-09.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/colorado-springs-co-msa/restaurant-industry/2026-09.pdf"}