Springfield jobs grow on paper, but joblessness climbs underneath.
6.0%
Springfield MSA unemployment
Up from 4.9% in May 2026
5.7%
Hampden County unemployment
Highest of any MA county, Aug. 2026
$1,302
Hampden County avg. weekly wage
vs. $1,654 national average, Q1 2026
+1.1%
Springfield annual job growth
3rd-strongest of 7 MA metro areas
This Month's Takeaways
01
Springfield's jobless rate is rising faster than the headline growth suggests.
Unemployment jumped from 4.9% in May to 6.0% in July, and Hampden County now leads Massachusetts counties in joblessness at 5.7%. The year-over-year +1.1% job gain looks solid in isolation but masks a clear deterioration within 2026 itself.
02
Every Massachusetts metro lost jobs month-over-month in August.
Springfield's softening isn't an isolated local story — it tracks a statewide pattern where all seven MSAs shed jobs between July and August even as annual comparisons stayed positive. That consistency across regions suggests a broader Massachusetts cooling rather than a Springfield-specific shock.
03
Wage gap with the national average remains the metro's core structural issue.
Hampden County's $1,302 average weekly wage sits roughly 21% below the national $1,654 figure, and the county's jobs base shrank 4.6% from 2019-2024 while national employment grew. This is a longer-run competitiveness question for economic development planning, not a month-to-month fluctuation.
04
A high-profile plant closure adds texture, not the whole story.
Smithfield Packaged Meats' February closure affecting roughly 200 workers in Springfield reflects the kind of cost-driven manufacturing attrition showing up across Massachusetts WARN filings, where manufacturing accounts for 13 of 72 statewide notices this year. Isolated events like this matter less than the broader monthly employment trend commerce leaders should track.
Local Economic Conditions
Springfield's unemployment rate climbed to 6.0% in July, up from 4.9% in May, and Hampden County now carries the highest jobless rate in Massachusetts at 5.7% as of August, even as the metro posted one of the state's stronger year-over-year job gains at +1.1%. That divergence — annual growth alongside monthly softening, with every Massachusetts metro area losing jobs between July and August — suggests a labor market that expanded earlier in the year but has lost momentum into early fall.
Open Threads in the Data
Rising local unemployment paired with wages that trail the national average by roughly 21% ($1,302 vs. $1,654 weekly in Hampden County) points to a metro economy still working through structural wage and productivity gaps rather than a simple cyclical slowdown. For commerce leaders weighing local investment or expansion timing, the softening monthly trend argues for caution even though the headline annual growth number looks respectable; for government economists, the gap between participation stability and rising unemployment is worth isolating from national noise. Consider reviewing local expansion or investment timelines against the monthly trend data releasing October 20, rather than the more favorable year-over-year figure alone.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Springfield, MA 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 |
$33,974 |
→ Stable |
3,154 |
| Retail Cashier |
$34,320 |
→ Stable |
1,574 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$39,985 |
↓ Moderate decline |
508 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$82,860 |
↑ Moderate increase |
3,402 |
| Delivery Driver |
$35,988 |
↓ Moderate decline |
2,783 |
| Warehouse Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$43,239 |
↓ Moderate decline |
186 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$83,200 |
↑ Moderate increase |
517 |
| HVAC Technician |
$67,600 |
→ Stable |
122 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$38,532 |
↓ Moderate decline |
566 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$40,971 |
→ Stable |
497 |
| Operations Manager |
$94,078 |
↑ Moderate increase |
52 |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$37,273 |
→ Stable |
139 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$42,640 |
→ Stable |
2,065 |
| Registered Nurse |
$110,240 |
→ Stable |
5,839 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$45,760 |
→ Stable |
816 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$140,579 |
→ Stable |
170 |
| Data Engineer |
$106,735 |
↓ Significant decline |
122 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$75,000 |
→ Stable |
532 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$67,395 |
→ Stable |
80 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$59,735 |
↑ Moderate increase |
22 |
| Business Analyst |
$95,219 |
↑ Moderate increase |
140 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$97,569 |
→ Stable |
116 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$71,399 |
↑ Moderate increase |
6,559 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$80,000 |
↓ Moderate decline |
336 |
Industry Snapshot · Springfield, MA 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 |
→ −1.3% |
↑ +149.1% |
| Manufacturing |
↑ +14.7% |
↑ +181.7% |
| Retail Trade |
→ +2.7% |
↑ +101.4% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↓ −4.4% |
↑ +219.8% |
| Information |
↑ +9.2% |
↑ +97.0% |
| Financial Activities |
↓ −3.2% |
↑ +224.1% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↑ +11.7% |
↑ +228.9% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +3.8% |
↑ +122.4% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
→ +0.7% |
↑ +151.0% |
| Government |
↑ +41.6% |
↑ +602.4% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Expected data release
Massachusetts September unemployment and Springfield MSA September payroll figures publish October 16 and October 20, respectively. These will clarify whether July-August softening is a brief dip or the start of a sustained trend.
Emerging pressure point
Hampden County's unemployment rate, already the state's highest at 5.7%, bears watching against Worcester and Amherst-Northampton, the two metros currently outpacing Springfield in annual job growth. A widening gap would reinforce the structural wage-and-growth story rather than a temporary one.
Worth watching
Statewide WARN notices are down 11% year-over-year, but healthcare and manufacturing remain the most-cited industries in 2026 filings. Any Springfield-specific notices in those sectors would be meaningful given the metro's reliance on both.
Potential inflection point
National wage growth has slowed to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation, the weakest real-wage picture since 2021. Whether Hampden County's already-below-average wages compress further relative to inflation will shape local purchasing power and consumer spending heading into the fourth quarter.
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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