{"schema_version": 1, "id": "parkersburg-marietta-vienna-wv-oh-msa/human-resources/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 391, "label": "Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH MSA", "slug": "parkersburg-marietta-vienna-wv-oh-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "human_resources", "slug": "human-resources", "label": "Human Resources"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T02:39:49.618519+00:00", "headline": "Parkersburg HR pay climbs as the job base shrinks.", "headline_summary": "Metro nonfarm employment fell 1.6% year-over-year even as HR Business Partner pay rose to a metro median of $86,568 and Recruiter pay climbed significantly, signaling employers are investing in talent acquisition capacity against a shrinking labor pool.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Metro nonfarm employment change", "value": "-1.6%", "context": "Year-over-year, Feb 2026 vs Feb 2025"}, {"label": "Metro unemployment rate", "value": "4.00%", "context": "July 2026, vs 4.2% national (Sept)"}, {"label": "WV labor force participation", "value": "53.8%", "context": "vs 61.8% national average"}, {"label": "Metro mean wage growth", "value": "5.8%", "context": "Year-over-year, vs 4.1% national avg hourly earnings"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Recruiter pay is climbing while the job market is shrinking.", "body": "Metro Recruiter advertised pay (job ads signal hiring demand; one ad often covers several openings) rose significantly even as nonfarm employment fell 1.6% year-over-year \u2014 a signal that employers are investing in acquisition capacity to compete for a smaller labor pool. Benchmark this role against local scarcity using metro-level data."}, {"headline": "HR Coordinator pay surge may reflect entry-level labor scarcity.", "body": "Metro HR Coordinator pay rose significantly to $42,079, still well below the national median of $50,460, suggesting local employers are bidding up entry-level HR talent against a 53.8% participation rate. Expect continued upward pressure until participation improves."}, {"headline": "Benefits Manager pay is softening locally against a rising national trend.", "body": "Metro Benefits Manager pay fell moderately to $113,614 while the national median climbed to $118,618 \u2014 a divergence that may suggest fewer complex benefits roles being advertised locally as metro employment contracts. Organizations recruiting for this role regionally should expect to lead with total rewards messaging to close the gap."}, {"headline": "Healthcare's hiring dominance is narrowing the non-healthcare talent pool.", "body": "Statewide healthcare and social assistance employment surpassed 138,000 workers, consistent with the sector absorbing a growing share of available labor. Non-healthcare employers in Parkersburg should assume healthcare wage floors are increasingly the benchmark competitors must clear across all peer industries."}], "local_conditions": "Parkersburg's 4.00% July unemployment rate alongside a 1.6% year-over-year decline in nonfarm wage and salary employment points to a metro shedding jobs even as the labor pool stays tight. West Virginia's structural participation gap \u2014 53.8% versus 61.8% nationally \u2014 compounds the squeeze, forcing local employers to compete for a shrinking pool of active job seekers even as statewide labor supply stays limited.", "implications": "Metro wage growth (5.8% year-over-year per BLS) is outpacing both state figures (average weekly wages down 3.2% statewide) and national wage growth (4.1%), suggesting Parkersburg employers are bidding up pay to offset thin labor supply amid a labor market that shows little sign of broad economic expansion. HR Business Partner and Recruiter advertised pay both show significant local increases, consistent with organizations investing in talent acquisition and internal mobility capacity while holding overall headcount steady. Consider reviewing whether recent compensation increases in recruiting and HR business partner roles reflect a deliberate retention strategy or reactive bidding against a shrinking candidate pool.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Expected", "body": "BLS releases October MSA-level unemployment and employment data on December 2, 2026. Watch whether the metro's July improvement (4.0%, down from 4.3% in June) held or reversed given the 1.6% nonfarm employment decline reported earlier in the year."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Panther Creek Mine's WARN notice (109 miners, effective December 5) adds to six coal-related WARN filings statewide affecting roughly 900 workers in 2026. Monitor whether displaced mining talent \u2014 among the highest-paid in the state at $1,477/week \u2014 enters the Parkersburg candidate pool and at what wage expectations."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Wood County's six state site-readiness awards and the Community Bank headquarters and Camden Clark North Tower expansions signal near-term construction and professional services hiring. Track whether advertised pay for project management, facilities and finance roles moves ahead of these announcements."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National retention-over-recruitment dynamics \u2014 large and small employers hiring faster than mid-market firms \u2014 may be amplified locally given Parkersburg's employment contraction. Mid-market HR teams should assess whether current retention investments (flexibility, development) are sufficient against metro-level pay increases in acquisition-facing roles like Recruiter and HR Business Partner."}], "roles": [{"role": "Compensation Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 71000.0, "metro_p50": 91943.0, "metro_p75": 103069.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 100798.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "HR Business Partner", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 71662.5, "metro_p50": 86568.0, "metro_p75": 97452.25, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 83900.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Benefits Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 79013.0, "metro_p50": 113614.0, "metro_p75": 122246.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 118618.2, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "HRIS Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 76519.0, "metro_p50": 91362.6, "metro_p75": 104801.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 95000.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "HR Coordinator", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 33280.0, "metro_p50": 42078.8, "metro_p75": 47705.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 50460.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Recruiter", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 52751.0, "metro_p50": 68176.2, "metro_p75": 75883.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 67234.2, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Payroll Specialist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 44720.0, "metro_p50": 60000.0, "metro_p75": 65000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 61103.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Parkersburg MSA unemployment rate was 4.00% in July 2026"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Nonfarm employment declined 1.6% year-over-year as of February 2026"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "West Virginia labor force participation rate at 53.8% vs 61.8% national"}, {"source_name": "WorkForce West Virginia", "source_url": null, "statement": "Healthcare and social assistance employment surpassed 138,000 workers statewide"}, {"source_name": "WorkForce West Virginia WARN Notice Database", "source_url": null, "statement": "Panther Creek Mine WARN notice affecting 109 miners effective December 5, 2026"}, {"source_name": "WTAP", "source_url": null, "statement": "Wood County Economic Development received six state site-readiness awards"}], "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": "November 2026", "files": {"html": "parkersburg-marietta-vienna-wv-oh-msa/human-resources/2026-10.html", "pdf": "parkersburg-marietta-vienna-wv-oh-msa/human-resources/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:28:02.920999+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/parkersburg-marietta-vienna-wv-oh-msa/human-resources/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/parkersburg-marietta-vienna-wv-oh-msa/human-resources/2026-10.pdf"}