Mansfield jobless rate ticks up as Ohio's masks a shrinking workforce.
3.9%
Mansfield unemployment rate
Preliminary June 2026, up from 3.2% in May
-95,000
Ohio labor force change
Year-over-year decline despite 39,000 more working-age residents
51,400
Mansfield nonfarm payrolls
June 2026, up 600 from May
$33,856
Manufacturing production worker pay
Metro median, down moderately vs $39,520 national
This Month's Takeaways
01
A falling jobless rate may mask shrinking participation, not growth.
Ohio's unemployment rate fell to 3.3% in August even as 95,000 Ohioans left the labor force over the year and employment grew by just 5,000. Mansfield's own rate rose to a preliminary 3.9% in June after a 3.2% May reading, making it worth confirming whether local labor force size is holding or eroding before citing the rate alone as a strength indicator.
02
Manufacturing's wage signal is softer than its employment signal.
Production remains Mansfield's largest occupational group at 41,650 workers, yet the metro's Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler median advertised pay fell moderately to $33,856, well under the $39,520 national figure. That gap, paired with statewide manufacturing leading WARN filings, suggests margin pressure in the metro's core sector even where headcount stays steady.
03
Healthcare and skilled trades are the metro's clearest bright spots.
Registered Nurse advertised pay rose significantly to a $98,127 metro median, and Electrician and HVAC Technician pay both moved up moderately, tracking national momentum in hands-on, licensed occupations. These sectors appear to be absorbing local economic demand that manufacturing and clerical work are not.
04
Local software pay outpacing the national figure is a data point, not yet a trend.
Mansfield's Software Engineer median of $171,000 runs above the $153,652 national figure, an unusual reading for a manufacturing-centered metro of this size. Given small local sample sizes in high-wage technical roles, this likely reflects a handful of postings rather than a broad-based technology employment shift and should be weighted cautiously in any public commentary.
Local Economic Conditions
Mansfield's labor force edged up to 52.7 thousand in June 2026 even as its unemployment rate ticked to a preliminary 3.9%, a seasonal softening from May's 3.2% that still leaves the metro below Ohio's 3.3% and well under the national 4.1%. Manufacturing remains the metro's structural anchor — production occupations alone account for 41,650 jobs — but statewide manufacturing WARN activity (23 notices, led by a 1,341-worker reduction at International Motors) and a metro manufacturing production-worker wage decline point to uneven footing beneath the headline stability.
Open Threads in the Data
Mansfield's below-state, below-national unemployment rate reads as resilience, but the same pattern playing out statewide — falling joblessness driven by labor force exit rather than hiring strength — warrants scrutiny before local leaders treat the rate as a growth signal. Manufacturing wage softness alongside strong advertised gains in healthcare (Registered Nurse up significantly) and skilled trades (Electrician, HVAC up moderately) suggests the metro's economic momentum is bifurcating by sector rather than moving uniformly. Current conditions suggest monitoring whether Richland County's labor force participation holds or contracts in step with the statewide trend before drawing conclusions about underlying business-climate strength.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Mansfield, OH 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 |
$28,496 |
↑ Moderate increase |
651 |
| Retail Cashier |
$25,911 |
→ Stable |
487 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$34,195 |
↓ Significant decline |
114 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$81,878 |
↓ Moderate decline |
1,530 |
| Delivery Driver |
$34,769 |
→ Stable |
511 |
| Warehouse Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$41,009 |
↑ Significant increase |
64 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$70,845 |
↑ Moderate increase |
66 |
| HVAC Technician |
$68,698 |
↑ Moderate increase |
31 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$33,856 |
↓ Moderate decline |
169 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$37,423 |
↑ Moderate increase |
82 |
| Operations Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$39,520 |
↑ Moderate increase |
26 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$35,880 |
↑ Moderate increase |
308 |
| Registered Nurse |
$98,127 |
↑ Significant increase |
730 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$36,308 |
→ Stable |
65 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$171,000 |
↑ Significant increase |
11 |
| Data Engineer |
$133,120 |
↑ Moderate increase |
7,501 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$64,399 |
→ Stable |
33 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$51,928 |
↓ Moderate decline |
19 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$59,248 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,822 |
| Business Analyst |
$96,332 |
↑ Moderate increase |
7,068 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$72,450 |
↑ Significant increase |
12 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$48,918 |
↑ Moderate increase |
382 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$75,547 |
→ Stable |
50 |
Industry Snapshot · Mansfield, OH 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 |
↓ −18.5% |
↑ +127.6% |
| Manufacturing |
→ +1.9% |
↑ +261.3% |
| Retail Trade |
↑ +3.1% |
↑ +132.8% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↓ −16.9% |
↑ +143.2% |
| Information |
↑ +73.0% |
↑ +176.0% |
| Financial Activities |
↓ −5.9% |
↑ +400.0% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↑ +7.5% |
↑ +218.5% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +3.9% |
↑ +84.3% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
↓ −7.3% |
↑ +110.9% |
| Government |
↑ +81.5% |
↑ +961.5% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Early indicator
Watch whether Richland County's civilian labor force count, last at 52.7 thousand in June, holds through the fall reporting cycle or begins contracting in line with the statewide pattern of participation decline.
Emerging pressure point
Statewide manufacturing WARN activity (23 notices in 90 days, led by a 1,341-worker reduction at International Motors) bears watching for any Richland County-specific filings, given manufacturing's outsized share of local employment.
Worth watching
National wage growth has slipped to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation, the weakest real-wage picture since 2021. A comparable squeeze locally would show up first in flat-to-declining advertised pay for retail and warehouse roles, both already soft in Mansfield this month.
Potential inflection point
Ohio's August private-sector job growth (2,100 statewide) lagged the national pace sharply; whether Mansfield's June employment uptick (+600 to 51,400) continues or stalls in upcoming releases will signal whether the metro is tracking state softness or bucking it.
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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