{"schema_version": 1, "id": "evansville-in-ky-msa/metro-job-market/2026-09", "product": "Metro Job Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 154, "label": "Evansville, IN-KY MSA", "slug": "evansville-in-ky-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "general_conditions", "slug": "metro-job-market", "label": "General Market Conditions"}, "period": "2026-09", "public_after": "2026-09-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T13:38:53.145719+00:00", "headline": "Evansville's jobless rate defies a cooling national labor market.", "headline_summary": "Evansville's 2.5% unemployment rate sits nearly two points below the 4.2% national figure even as U.S. hiring slowed to 29,000 jobs in September and wage growth fell behind inflation nationally.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Metro unemployment rate", "value": "2.5%", "context": "vs 4.1-4.2% national, Apr 2026 reading"}, {"label": "National payroll growth", "value": "29,000 jobs", "context": "Sept 2026, down from 45k 12-mo avg"}, {"label": "National wage growth vs inflation", "value": "3.0% vs 3.4% CPI", "context": "First real-wage gap in two years"}, {"label": "Indiana labor force participation", "value": "63%", "context": "Down 0.8 pts over 12 months, still above 61.8% US"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Evansville's unemployment edge over the nation is widening, not narrowing.", "body": "A 2.5% metro rate against a 4.1-4.2% national rate places Evansville among the tightest labor markets in its metro size class, even as national hiring cools sharply. That gap is a defensible, quotable signal of local economic resilience independent of the national slowdown narrative."}, {"headline": "Manufacturing capital commitments are translating into visible metro activity.", "body": "TaylorMade's multimillion-dollar Vanderburgh County expansion and Indiana's statewide push into advanced manufacturing and agbioscience (570 new high-wage jobs announced in September) reinforce that the metro's industrial base is still attracting investment despite national manufacturing softness."}, {"headline": "White-collar pay softness locally may reflect a narrower, sector-specific cooling.", "body": "Advertised pay for software engineers, accountants and administrative roles in Evansville is down significantly while national figures for the same roles hold flat or rise, a divergence that is consistent with thinner local demand for professional-services talent rather than a broad metro slowdown."}, {"headline": "Healthcare wage strength offers a counterweight to softer sectors.", "body": "Registered Nurse pay rose sharply both locally ($102,472) and nationally, tracking with Deaconess and Ascension St. Vincent's continued anchor role in the metro's employment base \u2014 a sign the health care cluster remains a stabilizing force in overall labor income."}], "local_conditions": "Evansville's labor market continues to run tighter than both state and national benchmarks, with the metro's April 2026 unemployment rate of 2.5% among the lowest of any mid-sized metro nationally, even as national hiring has slowed sharply to 29,000 jobs added in September and wage growth nationally has fallen behind inflation for the first time in two years. Local momentum is concentrated in advanced manufacturing and logistics-adjacent professional services, reinforced by named capital commitments like TaylorMade's 53-acre Vanderburgh County warehouse expansion, while advertised pay for several metro roles \u2014 software engineering, accounting, administrative support \u2014 is moving down even as national counterparts hold flat or rise, suggesting the metro's wage story is diverging from the national one in both directions depending on sector.", "implications": "Local economic conditions point to a two-speed metro economy: tight labor supply and sub-3% unemployment in production and logistics roles signal genuine capacity constraints for manufacturing and distribution expansion, while declining advertised pay in office, technical and administrative occupations suggests softer demand in white-collar segments that commerce leaders should not assume mirrors the national professional-services slowdown for the same reasons. Public-sector and healthcare wage stability \u2014 Registered Nurse pay up significantly both locally and nationally \u2014 offers a steadying anchor for consumer spending capacity even as cyclical sectors cool. Commerce and economic development leaders may want to evaluate whether current site-selection and investment messaging accurately reflects this split between a resilient industrial base and a softening local professional-services segment.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Expected release", "body": "BLS and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development are due to publish official September metro unemployment figures in early October; confirm whether the 2.5% April reading has held or drifted given national deceleration."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Indiana's statewide labor force participation rate has slipped 0.8 points over 12 months to 63%; watch whether Evansville's participation follows that statewide softening, which would matter for commerce leaders assessing available local workforce capacity."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "National WARN activity is elevated among large employers (Amazon, Meta, Tyson, FedEx, Kroger) and Indiana logged 24 WARN notices affecting 3,646 workers in 2026; no major Evansville-specific filings have surfaced, but regional logistics and manufacturing exposure warrants monitoring."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National wage growth has fallen below inflation (3.0% vs 3.4% CPI) for the first time in two years; if that gap persists, local consumer spending capacity across retail and services sectors may soften even where unemployment stays low."}], "roles": [{"role": "Retail Sales Associate", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 22225.0, "metro_p50": 27656.0, "metro_p75": 32648.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 33325.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Retail Cashier", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 23453.0, "metro_p50": 27040.0, "metro_p75": 29275.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 31200.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 31504.0, "metro_p50": 36335.0, "metro_p75": 39520.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 38000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "CDL Truck Driver", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 57538.0, "metro_p50": 76492.8, "metro_p75": 88400.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 78000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Delivery Driver", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 29410.0, "metro_p50": 34418.0, "metro_p75": 43680.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 34344.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Construction Laborer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 32830.0, "metro_p50": 41600.0, "metro_p75": 43680.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 40560.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Electrician", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 57542.0, "metro_p50": 70941.0, "metro_p75": 77355.25, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 71404.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 30160.0, "metro_p50": 37440.0, "metro_p75": 38194.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 39520.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Customer Service Representative", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 33083.0, "metro_p50": 37440.0, "metro_p75": 38480.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 39520.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Food Service Worker", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 26664.0, "metro_p50": 31200.0, "metro_p75": 31200.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 33756.2, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 33216.0, "metro_p50": 37440.0, "metro_p75": 40560.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 41106.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 32897.5, "metro_p50": 39193.0, "metro_p75": 42107.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 43680.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "HVAC Technician", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 62400.0, "metro_p50": 75000.0, "metro_p75": 76169.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 70720.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Registered Nurse", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 81667.0, "metro_p50": 102472.0, "metro_p75": 108080.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 102581.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 82521.0, "metro_p50": 115279.6, "metro_p75": 157997.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 153652.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Data Engineer", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 92885.0, "metro_p50": 123169.2, "metro_p75": 140680.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 139500.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Accountant", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 52338.0, "metro_p50": 63913.8, "metro_p75": 72666.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 72182.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Financial Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 68193.0, "metro_p50": 88400.0, "metro_p75": 95411.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 94782.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "HR Generalist/Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 38998.0, "metro_p50": 58539.6, "metro_p75": 68740.75, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 75000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Marketing Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 43386.5, "metro_p50": 56127.4, "metro_p75": 57335.5, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 62354.4, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Operations Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 72499.25, "metro_p50": 81721.0, "metro_p75": 90187.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 85216.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Elementary/Secondary School Teacher", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 31200.0, "metro_p50": 49545.4, "metro_p75": 56159.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 56731.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Account Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 60000.0, "metro_p50": 80000.0, "metro_p75": 90804.75, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 92749.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Warehouse Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 63750.0, "metro_p50": 65401.0, "metro_p75": 67500.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 75000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Business Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 70662.5, "metro_p50": 92686.0, "metro_p75": 95680.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 98279.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [{"sector": "Construction", "median_pay": 59430.0, "pay_trend_direction": "up", "pay_trend_magnitude": "significant", "postings_trend_direction": "up", "postings_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"sector": "Manufacturing", "median_pay": 60996.0, "pay_trend_direction": "up", "pay_trend_magnitude": "significant", "postings_trend_direction": "up", "postings_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"sector": "Retail Trade", "median_pay": 37164.0, "pay_trend_direction": "stable", "pay_trend_magnitude": "stable", "postings_trend_direction": "up", "postings_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"sector": "Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities", "median_pay": 62377.5, "pay_trend_direction": "up", "pay_trend_magnitude": "significant", "postings_trend_direction": "up", "postings_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"sector": "Information", "median_pay": 106992.0, "pay_trend_direction": "up", "pay_trend_magnitude": "significant", "postings_trend_direction": "up", "postings_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"sector": "Financial Activities", "median_pay": 61360.0, "pay_trend_direction": "up", "pay_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "postings_trend_direction": "up", "postings_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"sector": "Professional & Business Services", "median_pay": 58810.0, "pay_trend_direction": "up", "pay_trend_magnitude": "significant", "postings_trend_direction": "up", "postings_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"sector": "Education & Health Services", "median_pay": 78868.0, "pay_trend_direction": "up", "pay_trend_magnitude": "significant", "postings_trend_direction": "up", "postings_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"sector": "Leisure & Hospitality", "median_pay": 31200.0, "pay_trend_direction": "down", "pay_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "postings_trend_direction": "up", "postings_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"sector": "Government", "median_pay": 66071.0, "pay_trend_direction": "up", "pay_trend_magnitude": "significant", "postings_trend_direction": "up", "postings_trend_magnitude": "significant"}], "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": "evansville-in-ky-msa/metro-job-market/2026-09.html", "pdf": "evansville-in-ky-msa/metro-job-market/2026-09.pdf", "sources_html": "evansville-in-ky-msa/metro-job-market/2026-09.sources.html"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T13:50:26.678002+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/evansville-in-ky-msa/metro-job-market/2026-09.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/evansville-in-ky-msa/metro-job-market/2026-09.pdf"}