Solano County unemployment outpaces every Bay Area peer.
5.5%
Solano County unemployment
Highest of 9 Bay Area counties, up from 5.0% in June
4.2%
Vallejo-Fairfield MSA unemployment
Below county rate but up from July's 4.9% smoothed figure
5.1%
California statewide unemployment
48th among all states nationally
4.1%
National unemployment rate
One-year low; Solano runs 1.4 points above it
This Month's Takeaways
01
Solano's jobless rate diverges sharply from its regional peers.
At 5.5% in August, up from 5.0% in June, Solano County now carries the highest unemployment rate of any Bay Area county — a full percentage point above the statewide 5.1% figure. That gap signals the local economy is absorbing region-wide softness unevenly, likely tied to the county's heavier reliance on logistics, retail, and consumer-facing employment relative to tech-heavy neighboring counties.
02
Wage softness in blue-collar roles contradicts the national pattern.
Nationally, construction and manufacturing wages are among the few bright spots this month, yet locally, construction laborer, manufacturing production worker, and HVAC technician pay all registered moderate-to-significant declines. That divergence may suggest Solano's goods-handling and building trades are facing softer local demand even as those same occupations post gains elsewhere in the country.
03
Healthcare and education remain the metro's stabilizing anchor.
Registered nurse pay rose moderately and local education payrolls expanded with the school year, consistent with statewide patterns where healthcare and public education were the only sectors adding jobs broadly. For commerce leaders, this reinforces where consumer spending power and public-sector payroll stability are least likely to erode further in the near term.
04
A refinery closure signals a longer regional adjustment underway.
California's $3 million allocation to support workers and small businesses ahead of the Valero Benicia Refinery's planned closure points to a slow-moving, regionally concentrated labor transition rather than a sudden shock. Commerce leaders in Solano County should treat this as an early test of local retraining capacity and small-business resilience, not an isolated event.
Local Economic Conditions
Solano County's unemployment rate climbed to 5.5% in August, the highest among all nine Bay Area counties and well above both the state's 5.1% and the national 4.1% rate, even as the broader Vallejo-Fairfield MSA posted a comparatively steadier 4.2% reading for September. Local momentum is uneven by sector: education payrolls grew as schools reopened and trade/transportation/construction added modest headcount, while private education, health services, and leisure/hospitality each shed jobs, pointing to a metro economy holding ground overall but losing ground within consumer-facing sectors most exposed to tighter household budgets.
Open Threads in the Data
Solano County's position as the Bay Area's highest-unemployment county, paired with softening advertised pay across warehouse, construction, manufacturing, and delivery roles, suggests local consumer and logistics-adjacent demand is cooling faster than the region's headline numbers imply. Commerce leaders evaluating expansion or investment timing should weigh this sector unevenness rather than the blended metro rate alone — current conditions suggest reviewing which specific sectors (healthcare, public education, skilled trades) are still showing wage and employment resilience before committing to broader local investment assumptions.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 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 |
$37,432 |
→ Stable |
1,303 |
| Retail Cashier |
$36,816 |
→ Stable |
515 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$41,600 |
↓ Moderate decline |
273 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$77,720 |
↑ Significant increase |
681 |
| Delivery Driver |
$45,968 |
↓ Moderate decline |
580 |
| Warehouse Manager |
$89,500 |
↑ Significant increase |
116 |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$41,600 |
↓ Moderate decline |
28 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$79,783 |
↓ Moderate decline |
133 |
| HVAC Technician |
$93,600 |
↓ Significant decline |
48 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$41,709 |
↓ Significant decline |
250 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$45,915 |
↑ Moderate increase |
265 |
| Operations Manager |
$106,039 |
→ Stable |
533 |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$44,554 |
→ Stable |
68 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$47,840 |
→ Stable |
321 |
| Registered Nurse |
$132,943 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,191 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$48,973 |
↑ Moderate increase |
250 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$108,125 |
↓ Significant decline |
20 |
| Data Engineer |
$145,419 |
↑ Moderate increase |
33,072 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$88,055 |
↑ Significant increase |
89 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$76,803 |
↓ Moderate decline |
37 |
| Marketing Specialist |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
| Business Analyst |
$101,345 |
→ Stable |
25,083 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$78,041 |
↓ Significant decline |
28 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$75,004 |
↑ Significant increase |
1,793 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$82,500 |
↑ Significant increase |
48 |
Industry Snapshot · Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 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 |
→ 0.0% |
↑ +103.4% |
| Manufacturing |
↑ +4.0% |
↑ +138.0% |
| Retail Trade |
→ −1.9% |
↑ +97.9% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↓ −3.2% |
↑ +225.3% |
| Information |
↑ +6.8% |
↑ +75.5% |
| Financial Activities |
↑ +4.7% |
↑ +170.7% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↑ +10.9% |
↑ +113.3% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +7.1% |
↑ +102.7% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
↓ −3.9% |
↑ +109.0% |
| Government |
↑ +85.8% |
↑ +812.7% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Worth watching
Solano County's unemployment rate has risen for three consecutive months (5.0% in June to 5.5% in August). Confirmation of a fourth consecutive increase in the next county-level release would mark a clearer trend rather than monthly noise.
Emerging pressure point
The Valero Benicia Refinery closure, slated for April 2026, is likely to generate WARN notices and visible job losses in coming months. Local economic development leaders should track whether state retraining funds reach affected workers before displacement peaks.
Early indicator
Advertised pay for warehouse, delivery, and manufacturing roles has already softened locally while holding steady nationally. A continuation of this gap over the next two months would reinforce that Solano's logistics-dependent employment base is cooling faster than comparable metros.
Potential inflection point
California's minimum wage rises to $17.40 per hour on January 1, 2027. Retail and food-service employers in the metro, where advertised pay for cashiers and retail associates has been flat, will face a mechanical wage floor increase that merits watching for pass-through effects on local pricing and hours.
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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