Gulfport wages outpace the nation while the labor pool stays shallow.
6.9%
Harrison County wage growth
vs 4.2% national average, Q4 2025 YoY
4.1%
Metro unemployment rate
June 2026, vs 4.1% national, 3.7% state
54.4%
State labor force participation
vs 62.2% national rate
6.6%
Professional/Business Services growth
1,300 jobs added YoY through July 2026
This Month's Takeaways
01
Local wages are outrunning the nation, not just inflation.
Harrison County's 6.9% year-over-year wage gain beats the 4.2% national average and arrives as national wage growth has slowed to 3.0%. That gap points to a locally tight labor supply rather than a broad national wage acceleration, a distinction relevant to anyone pricing local investment or expansion.
02
Professional services growth hints at quiet diversification.
The sector added 1,300 jobs (6.6%) year-over-year through July, a notable shift for a metro historically anchored in gaming and hospitality. Whether this growth persists will say more about the coast's long-term economic resilience than any single quarter's unemployment reading.
03
Participation, not unemployment, is the binding constraint.
Mississippi's 54.4% labor force participation rate trails the national 62.2% by a wide margin, meaning low unemployment locally may reflect fewer active job seekers rather than a fully absorbed workforce. That gap limits how much the metro can scale economic activity without drawing people back into the labor force.
04
National cooling has not yet reached the coast.
While U.S. payroll growth decelerated sharply in September and government employment nationally shed jobs, Gulfport-Biloxi's wage and sector signals still point to local momentum. Commerce leaders should treat this as a lead indicator worth tracking rather than an assurance that national softening will bypass the metro entirely.
Local Economic Conditions
Gulfport-Biloxi's labor market shows a wage-led economy diverging from the national picture: Harrison County weekly wages rose 6.9% year-over-year in Q4 2025, well above the 4.2% national pace, even as the metro's 4.1% unemployment rate sits slightly above the state's 3.7% and roughly flat with the national 4.1%. Professional and Business Services expanded 6.6% year-over-year through July, suggesting the coastal economy is broadening beyond its traditional hospitality and gaming base at a moment when national hiring has slowed to 29,000 jobs added in September and government payrolls are contracting.
Open Threads in the Data
Wage growth outpacing national inflation locally is consistent with a tightening coastal labor supply rather than runaway demand, a distinction that matters for commerce leaders weighing expansion timing against input-cost assumptions. Mississippi's statewide labor force participation rate of 54.4%, well below the 62.2% national figure, signals that Gulfport-Biloxi employers drawing from this pool face a structurally shallower candidate base than wage trends alone would suggest. Current conditions suggest monitoring whether Professional and Business Services growth reflects durable diversification or a temporary rebuild tied to coastal development activity before treating it as a planning baseline.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS 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 |
$25,942 |
→ Stable |
1,254 |
| Retail Cashier |
$23,581 |
↓ Moderate decline |
543 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$33,398 |
↑ Moderate increase |
120 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$79,749 |
→ Stable |
1,096 |
| Delivery Driver |
$28,957 |
↓ Significant decline |
949 |
| Warehouse Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$32,568 |
↓ Moderate decline |
35 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$71,390 |
↑ Significant increase |
110 |
| HVAC Technician |
$57,744 |
↑ Significant increase |
62 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$41,263 |
↑ Significant increase |
77 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$34,778 |
→ Stable |
207 |
| Operations Manager |
$68,896 |
→ Stable |
108 |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$26,875 |
↓ Significant decline |
69 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$29,120 |
↓ Moderate decline |
337 |
| Registered Nurse |
$84,203 |
→ Stable |
878 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$37,440 |
↑ Moderate increase |
135 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$87,579 |
↓ Significant decline |
46 |
| Data Engineer |
$111,467 |
↑ Significant increase |
13 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$60,003 |
↓ Moderate decline |
54 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$55,000 |
↑ Moderate increase |
314 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$56,684 |
↑ Significant increase |
44 |
| Business Analyst |
$82,076 |
↑ Moderate increase |
14 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$85,607 |
↑ Significant increase |
14 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$31,720 |
↑ Moderate increase |
337 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$80,000 |
→ Stable |
146 |
Industry Snapshot · Gulfport-Biloxi, MS 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 |
↓ −24.1% |
↑ +17.1% |
| Manufacturing |
↑ +45.8% |
↑ +425.3% |
| Retail Trade |
→ +2.5% |
↑ +78.4% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↓ −5.2% |
↑ +74.6% |
| Information |
→ 0.0% |
↑ +33.7% |
| Financial Activities |
→ +2.9% |
↑ +78.8% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↓ −9.1% |
↑ +53.9% |
| Education & Health Services |
↓ −11.6% |
→ +0.7% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
↓ −12.4% |
↑ +74.0% |
| Government |
↑ +83.2% |
↑ +1127.3% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Worth watching
Professional and Business Services' 6.6% year-over-year growth is the strongest sector signal in the metro; next quarter's data will show whether this is a sustained trend or a one-time rebuild.
Emerging pressure point
Mississippi's labor force participation sits at a two-year low of 55.2% statewide. If the Gulfport-Biloxi metro mirrors this trend, it constrains how much local economic growth can occur without in-migration or participation gains.
Potential inflection point
National nonfarm payrolls grew just 29,000 in September with downward revisions to July and August. Watch whether Mississippi's record August employment level (1,199,800 jobs) holds through fall reporting or begins reflecting the national slowdown.
Early indicator
Manufacturing led Mississippi's WARN filings this year (8 notices, 596 workers), concentrated outside the coastal metro so far. Continued manufacturing investment signals like Hitachi Energy's announcement are worth tracking against this layoff backdrop for sector-level balance.
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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