Sources & References
Metro Job Market Pulse · Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA MSA · October 2026
Every advertised-pay, job-posting and industry figure in this briefing comes from WageScape's own database of active job postings. The sources below back the external facts cited in the written analysis.
Sources cited in this report
Key Indicators
Benton County average weekly wage was $1,480 in Q1 2026 vs $1,998 statewide
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — County Employment and Wages (QCEW) data
This Month's Takeaways
Washington wage growth of 3.1% against 3.5% inflation, real wages declining 0.5%
Washington Employment Security Department — State wage-vs-inflation divergence data
Local Economic Conditions
Kennewick-Richland-Pasco MSA unemployment rate was 4.2% in September 2026
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Metro-level unemployment data cited in pre-researched metro notes
Washington lost about 14,500 jobs in September, ranked 44th in state job growth
Washington Employment Security Department — State labor economist commentary on September job losses
Open Threads in the Data
Health care and leisure sectors expanding while manufacturing and professional services decline locally
Washington Employment Security Department — Benton-Franklin regional labor market report
Looking Ahead
Washington WARN filings heaviest in September, led by Amazon, Gilbert Orchards, MultiCare
Washington Employment Security Department — 2026 WARN Act notice tracking
How the numbers are calculated
- Advertised pay is the median of the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro. It is not survey or payroll data.
- Percent changes compare the latest six full months with the six months before that, for the same metro and sector.
- Sectors group postings by the employer's industry (NAICS) classification into ten sectors. Where a metro has too few postings in a sector, the state figure is used instead.
- Role pay trends use the same comparison windows. "Stable" means a change of less than 3%; "moderate" 3–10%; "significant" more than 10%.
Official data for comparison