Sources & References
Metro Job Market Pulse · Olympia, 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
Washington wage growth of 3.1% against 3.5% inflation produces real wage decline
Washington Employment Security Department — Statewide wage-vs-CPI analysis, September 2026
This Month's Takeaways
Education and health services employment up 1,300 jobs (6.4%) year-over-year in Thurston County
Washington Employment Security Department — Local industry employment data, July 2026
Local Economic Conditions
Thurston County unemployment rose from 3.5% to 4.3% between July and August 2026
Washington Employment Security Department — County-level unemployment data via Chronline reporting
Open Threads in the Data
National nonfarm payrolls added just 29,000 jobs in September with downward revisions
Bureau of Labor Statistics — National employment situation report, September 2026
Looking Ahead
Washington employers cut approximately 14,500 jobs in September 2026
Washington Employment Security Department / Yahoo News — Statewide September payroll report
MultiCare Health System filed WARN notice covering 138 workers statewide
Washington Employment Security Department — WARN Act notice filing, September 2026
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