{"schema_version": 1, "id": "davenport-moline-rock-island-ia-il-msa/life-sciences/2026-09", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 216, "label": "Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL MSA", "slug": "davenport-moline-rock-island-ia-il-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "life_sciences", "slug": "life-sciences", "label": "Life Sciences"}, "period": "2026-09", "public_after": "2026-09-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T13:20:34.513816+00:00", "headline": "Quad Cities jobs shrink even as unemployment falls.", "headline_summary": "Davenport-Moline-Rock Island lost 2,100 nonfarm jobs year-over-year even as unemployment dropped to 4.2%, while local Research Scientist pay ($155,478) climbed well above the national median ($131,354).", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Metro unemployment rate", "value": "4.2%", "context": "August 2026, down from 4.0% in July"}, {"label": "Metro nonfarm employment change", "value": "-2,100 jobs", "context": "Year-over-year, largest % decline in Illinois metros"}, {"label": "Illinois labor force change", "value": "-94,600 workers", "context": "Year-over-year through August 2026"}, {"label": "U.S. unemployment rate", "value": "4.1%", "context": "One-year low, unchanged since July 2026"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Falling jobs, falling unemployment \u2014 a mismatched signal.", "body": "Local nonfarm employment declined 2,100 positions year-over-year while unemployment dropped to 4.2%, consistent with workers exiting the labor force rather than genuine hiring strength. Life Sci leaders should treat the low local jobless rate skeptically when forecasting candidate pipeline depth."}, {"headline": "Research Scientist pay outpaces national trend sharply.", "body": "Metro median advertised pay for Research Scientist roles sits at $155,478, well above the $131,354 national figure, both trending up significantly. That local premium may reflect genuine scarcity rather than cost-of-living adjustment \u2014 worth testing against actual fill rates before assuming it's sustainable."}, {"headline": "Regulatory Affairs pay diverges from its national ceiling.", "body": "Metro Regulatory Affairs Specialist pay is advertised at $93,330 versus a stable national median of $104,000, a gap that could make local hiring more cost-efficient \u2014 but also signals the metro may struggle to attract senior regulatory talent commanding national premiums reported elsewhere this month ($320K\u2013$580K for VP-level roles)."}, {"headline": "CRA pay rising locally and nationally, unevenly.", "body": "Clinical Research Associate advertised pay climbed significantly both in the metro ($83,763) and nationally ($90,956), with the metro still trailing by roughly $7,200. Sustained national pull may draw clinical operations talent toward larger biopharma hubs, pressuring Quad Cities employers to close the gap or lean further on CRO partnerships."}], "local_conditions": "Davenport-Moline-Rock Island's unemployment rate fell to 4.2% in August even as total nonfarm employment dropped 2,100 jobs year-over-year \u2014 a divergence suggesting labor force contraction, not hiring strength, is pulling the rate down. Illinois' statewide labor force shrank by 94,600 workers over the same period, compounding scarcity for credential-heavy scientific and regulatory roles that already face long ramp times and thin regional bench strength.", "implications": "A shrinking labor force against falling local employment means Life Sci leaders in the Quad Cities can't count on rate-driven easing to widen the regulatory, quality, or CMC candidate pool \u2014 the math points to continued scarcity for specialized credentials even as headline unemployment looks benign. Build-vs-outsource tradeoffs tilt further toward CDMO and CRO partnerships for execution-critical but hard-to-staff functions, particularly where national premiums for regulatory affairs and process chemistry talent make in-house hiring slower and costlier. Consider reviewing which R&D, quality, and manufacturing roles face the longest open-requisition timelines locally, and model outsourcing cost against the real carrying cost of unfilled specialized seats.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "September's official BLS metro release (due October 28) will clarify whether the employment decline accelerates or stabilizes \u2014 a key input for headcount planning across R&D, clinical, and manufacturing functions."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Illinois WARN filings reached 91 notices and 16,782 affected workers year-to-date, concentrated outside life sciences so far. Watch whether displaced talent from sectors like information or financial activities begins entering adjacent scientific or quality roles."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National biopharma layoffs (BioMarin, Bristol Myers) are concentrated in consolidation functions while 64% of surveyed organizations keep recruiting. Quad Cities employers should monitor whether any released specialized talent \u2014 particularly regulatory or CMC \u2014 becomes available regionally."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "GLP-1 pipeline expansion is intensifying national competition for manufacturing, quality, and regulatory talent. Track whether this pressure reaches regional CDMO capacity or advertised pay for Validation Engineer and CMC-adjacent roles locally."}], "roles": [{"role": "Research Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 96318.5, "metro_p50": 155478.4, "metro_p75": 180500.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 131354.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Clinical Research Associate", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 63752.0, "metro_p50": 83763.0, "metro_p75": 100011.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 90955.8, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Lab Technician", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 40473.0, "metro_p50": 46621.0, "metro_p75": 52990.5, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 47402.2, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Regulatory Affairs Specialist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 68679.0, "metro_p50": 93330.0, "metro_p75": 114685.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 104000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Clinical Data Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 97834.0, "metro_p50": 121911.0, "metro_p75": 121911.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 123031.0, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Biostatistician", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 94961.0, "metro_p50": 130897.0, "metro_p75": 152459.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 133322.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Validation Engineer", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 85000.0, "metro_p50": 99647.0, "metro_p75": 106081.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 108377.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "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": "davenport-moline-rock-island-ia-il-msa/life-sciences/2026-09.html", "pdf": "davenport-moline-rock-island-ia-il-msa/life-sciences/2026-09.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T14:31:01.738555+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/davenport-moline-rock-island-ia-il-msa/life-sciences/2026-09.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/davenport-moline-rock-island-ia-il-msa/life-sciences/2026-09.pdf"}