{"schema_version": 1, "id": "sioux-city-ia-ne-sd-msa/human-resources/2026-09", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 354, "label": "Sioux City, IA-NE-SD MSA", "slug": "sioux-city-ia-ne-sd-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "human_resources", "slug": "human-resources", "label": "Human Resources"}, "period": "2026-09", "public_after": "2026-09-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T13:12:54.588233+00:00", "headline": "Sioux City HR pay splits from national trend \u2014 mostly downward.", "headline_summary": "Metro Recruiter and HR Coordinator advertised pay fell significantly even as national rates for the same roles climbed, while HRIS Analyst pay locally rose 85,756 against Iowa's steady 3.2% unemployment rate.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Metro unemployment rate", "value": "3.2%", "context": "June 2026, matches Iowa statewide rate"}, {"label": "Metro nonfarm employment", "value": "-1.2% YoY", "context": "Through February 2026, BLS"}, {"label": "Recruiter advertised pay, metro", "value": "$51,975", "context": "Down significantly vs national $68,167 (up)"}, {"label": "HRIS Analyst advertised pay, metro", "value": "$85,756", "context": "Up significantly, above national $97,555 trend"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "HR role pay is softening locally while national rates climb.", "body": "Recruiter advertised pay fell significantly in the metro even as national Recruiter pay rose moderately, and Payroll Specialist and HR Coordinator postings show the same split. Employers recruiting HR talent against out-of-market competitors may be underestimating what it now takes to retain or backfill these roles."}, {"headline": "Manufacturing resilience masks a flat annual picture.", "body": "Iowa added 1,300 manufacturing jobs in August and Sioux City manufacturing employment grew 1.3% year-over-year, but statewide manufacturing growth remains near flat and accounts for the largest share of Iowa's WARN-affected workers. Treat manufacturing hiring plans as sector-specific and monitor month-to-month rather than assuming sustained momentum."}, {"headline": "HRIS Analyst pay is the exception worth tracking.", "body": "Metro HRIS Analyst advertised pay rose significantly, outpacing even the national increase, consistent with employers investing in systems and data capability amid broader HR headcount caution. This looks like a structural shift toward HR tech investment rather than a one-month anomaly."}, {"headline": "Workforce aging-out is quietly tightening mid-career pipelines.", "body": "Iowa's 45-54 age cohort saw the largest labor force decline statewide, a dynamic likely present in Sioux City given its above-average labor force participation. Retention and succession planning for mid-career roles may need more urgency than turnover data alone suggests."}], "local_conditions": "Sioux City's labor market shows the same bifurcation playing out statewide: manufacturing employment grew 1.3% year-over-year through late 2025 while total nonfarm employment contracted 1.2% through February 2026, and leisure and hospitality continues to shed jobs even as government employment expanded 3.4%. With Iowa's statewide unemployment holding at 3.2% for four straight months and the labor force participation rate near the top of the national ranking, tight labor supply persists even as overall job counts soften, suggesting employers face hiring friction in specific sectors rather than broad-based labor surplus.", "implications": "Divergent sector performance means blanket hiring freezes or blanket wage increases both misread the local market \u2014 manufacturing and government roles face genuine competition for scarce talent while hospitality employers may have more room to negotiate on pay. Metro advertised pay for several HR-function roles is moving opposite the national trend, with Recruiter and HR Coordinator postings down significantly locally while national postings for the same roles rise, a signal that Sioux City employers may be under-pricing roles relative to where national wage pressure is heading. Consider evaluating compensation benchmarks sector-by-sector rather than applying metro-wide averages, particularly for roles where local postings diverge sharply from national direction.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Expected", "body": "September metro employment data from BLS is due in early October with a one-month lag; watch whether the 1.2% year-over-year nonfarm decline seen through February persists or reverses."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Leisure and hospitality contraction locally mirrors national softness in lower-wage, middle-skill occupations; expect continued churn risk among hourly workers if wage growth there keeps lagging."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Iowa's fifth consecutive year of minimum UI tax rates frees up employer capital; watch whether metro employers redirect savings toward advertised pay increases in undersupplied functions like HR tech and recruiting."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "National information-sector layoffs (Amazon, Meta, Verizon among filers) could push displaced tech and HRIS talent into secondary markets; monitor whether Sioux City sees any uptick in out-of-state applicants for systems-oriented roles."}], "roles": [{"role": "Compensation Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 76979.0, "metro_p50": 90786.0, "metro_p75": 97778.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 101727.4, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "HR Business Partner", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 47500.0, "metro_p50": 63952.4, "metro_p75": 81464.75, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 83766.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "significant"}, {"role": "Benefits Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 70000.0, "metro_p50": 90000.0, "metro_p75": 100000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 117888.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "HRIS Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 75098.0, "metro_p50": 85756.0, "metro_p75": 105606.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 97554.8, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "HR Coordinator", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 37840.75, "metro_p50": 44549.0, "metro_p75": 45120.25, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 50000.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Recruiter", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 33000.0, "metro_p50": 51974.6, "metro_p75": 60093.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 68167.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Payroll Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 38480.0, "metro_p50": 46512.0, "metro_p75": 49779.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 59855.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [], "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": "October 2026", "files": {"html": "sioux-city-ia-ne-sd-msa/human-resources/2026-09.html", "pdf": "sioux-city-ia-ne-sd-msa/human-resources/2026-09.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T14:36:26.056621+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/sioux-city-ia-ne-sd-msa/human-resources/2026-09.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/sioux-city-ia-ne-sd-msa/human-resources/2026-09.pdf"}