Elizabethtown unemployment falls, but manufacturing churn clouds the read.
4.0%
Metro unemployment rate
Down from 4.9% in Sept. 2025; KY statewide at 4.7%
680
Manufacturing jobs lost to closures
Akebono Brake (450) + Fritz Winter N.A. (230), 2025
9.2K
MSA manufacturing employment
Down from 9.4K in Sept. 2025
$37,440
Construction laborer advertised pay
Up significantly; vs. $40,560 national median
This Month's Takeaways
01
Falling unemployment masks unresolved manufacturing churn.
MSA unemployment dropped from 4.9% to 4.0% between September and December 2025, but that span overlaps two major closures totaling 680 manufacturing jobs. A lower jobless rate alongside flat-to-declining manufacturing employment suggests displaced workers are being absorbed elsewhere rather than the sector itself recovering.
02
Construction pay is pulling ahead of the metro's wage curve.
Construction laborer pay rose significantly locally to a $37,440 median, and electrician pay climbed to $70,355, both outpacing stable or declining advertised pay in retail, logistics, and administrative roles. That divergence points to construction and skilled trades as the metro's clearest pocket of real economic momentum this month.
03
Public-sector pay signals stability, not retreat.
Elizabethtown's active Fire Chief recruitment and steady teacher pay ($66,945 median, stable) suggest local government payrolls are holding steady even as national government employment has shed 216,000 positions over the past year. That stability contrasts with the national private-versus-public divergence and is a relevant input for anyone assessing the metro's public-service capacity.
04
Several metro pay signals are moving opposite the national trend.
Financial Analyst ($70,440, down significantly) and Business Analyst ($95,217, down significantly) advertised pay fell locally while national figures held flat or rose, and Account Manager pay sits at barely a third of the national median. These divergences may reflect a thinner local market for professional-services roles rather than a broad wage retreat, but they warrant a second look before drawing metro-wide conclusions from any single occupation.
Local Economic Conditions
Elizabethtown-Fort Knox MSA unemployment tightened to 4.0% by December 2025 from 4.9% in September 2025, but that improvement sits against two confirmed 2025 manufacturing closures -- Akebono Brake (450 jobs) and Fritz Winter North America (230 jobs) -- whose full payroll impact is still working through 2026 reporting. Statewide manufacturing employment remains 2,000 jobs below year-ago levels even as construction and durable-goods manufacturing post modest August gains, suggesting the metro's industrial base is stabilizing unevenly rather than broadly expanding.
Open Threads in the Data
Local advertised pay data shows construction labor and electrician pay rising significantly while manufacturing production pay sits flat, consistent with a metro where skilled trades tied to construction and infrastructure are tightening faster than factory-floor roles still absorbing 2025 closure fallout. Commerce leaders weighing expansion or facility investment should read the Akebono and Fritz Winter closures as a labor-supply release rather than a demand signal -- displaced manufacturing workers may be entering adjacent sectors, including construction, at a pace worth tracking. Current conditions suggest monitoring whether Hardin County's manufacturing employment base (7,388 workers as of 2024) stabilizes over the next two quarters before treating the metro's falling unemployment rate as a clean signal of economic strength.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Elizabethtown, KY 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 |
$27,646 |
→ Stable |
492 |
| Retail Cashier |
$26,464 |
↓ Moderate decline |
376 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$34,320 |
→ Stable |
234 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$78,000 |
→ Stable |
1,560 |
| Delivery Driver |
$33,340 |
↓ Significant decline |
437 |
| Warehouse Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$37,440 |
↑ Significant increase |
28 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$70,355 |
↑ Significant increase |
65 |
| HVAC Technician |
$65,200 |
→ Stable |
593 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$34,320 |
→ Stable |
36 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$38,496 |
↓ Moderate decline |
66 |
| Operations Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$40,653 |
↑ Significant increase |
25 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$39,648 |
↓ Moderate decline |
220 |
| Registered Nurse |
$92,482 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,059 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$36,478 |
→ Stable |
63 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$68,995 |
→ Stable |
10 |
| Data Engineer |
$141,235 |
↑ Moderate increase |
3,776 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$70,086 |
↑ Moderate increase |
5,578 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$70,000 |
↑ Significant increase |
1,084 |
| Marketing Specialist |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
| Business Analyst |
$95,217 |
↓ Significant decline |
10 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$70,440 |
↓ Significant decline |
11 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$66,945 |
→ Stable |
457 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$33,280 |
↓ Significant decline |
26 |
Industry Snapshot · Elizabethtown, KY 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 |
→ −1.2% |
↑ +117.4% |
| Manufacturing |
↑ +13.0% |
↑ +312.1% |
| Retail Trade |
↑ +5.5% |
↑ +108.4% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↓ −7.4% |
↑ +275.0% |
| Information |
↓ −6.2% |
↓ −8.7% |
| Financial Activities |
↓ −7.2% |
↑ +74.5% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↑ +31.2% |
↑ +133.5% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +8.1% |
↑ +64.1% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
→ −0.9% |
↑ +106.3% |
| Government |
↑ +85.1% |
↑ +1012.1% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Expected data release
BLS September 2026 metro-level unemployment and payroll figures are due in October; watch whether the December 2025 improvement to 4.0% held through the first three quarters of 2026 or reflects a seasonal or temporary dip.
Emerging pressure point
Federal Medicaid budget cuts beginning in 2027 threaten healthcare employment statewide, a sector that has been one of Kentucky's few steady job-growth sources; local healthcare employment (6,597 workers in Hardin County) is a key indicator to track given Registered Nurse pay is already up moderately.
Worth watching
Whether workers displaced by the Akebono Brake and Fritz Winter North America closures show up in rising construction or logistics labor supply, or instead register as discouraged workers leaving the labor force -- the distinction matters for reading the metro's true slack.
Potential inflection point
Kentucky's labor force has grown for three consecutive months after five months of decline; if that statewide re-entry trend reaches Hardin County, it could ease the tight labor conditions implied by the metro's falling unemployment rate.
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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