Williamsport manufacturing and freight pay outrun a cooling state economy.
3.8%
Metro unemployment rate
vs 4.1% PA, 4.2% national (Sept 2026)
+2.7% YoY
Manufacturing employment growth
7.7K jobs, metro, as of July 2026
$90,000 median
CDL driver advertised pay
vs $78,000 national median
1,899 workers
PA WARN-affected workers
17 notices, past 90 days statewide
This Month's Takeaways
01
Manufacturing holds up locally while the state sector cools.
Lycoming County manufacturing employment grew 2.7% year-over-year even as Pennsylvania lost jobs in construction, government, and trade/transportation combined since August 2025. Local economic developers should treat this as a metro-specific strength worth highlighting, not an assumption that statewide manufacturing trends apply uniformly.
02
Driver pay surge may signal freight activity tied to local production.
CDL truck driver advertised pay reached a $90,000 metro median, 15% above the $78,000 national figure, consistent with logistics demand supporting manufacturing and distribution in the region. This divergence is worth tracking as an early signal of whether local freight volume is strengthening ahead of broader hiring data.
03
Healthcare wage gains outpace inflation, unlike the national pattern.
Registered nurse and CNA/home health aide pay both posted significant local increases, aligning with Pennsylvania's statewide health and education sector hitting record employment. Given national real wages are no longer keeping pace with 3.4% inflation, Williamsport's healthcare wage momentum may represent a comparatively durable pocket of purchasing power.
04
Construction labor pay rising despite statewide sector contraction.
Construction laborer advertised pay in the metro rose significantly even as Pennsylvania construction employment sits below year-ago levels and investment-sensitive sectors contract statewide. Commerce leaders weighing local development timelines should treat this as a signal of tight, not necessarily expanding, local construction capacity.
Local Economic Conditions
Williamsport's unemployment rate held near 3.8% through mid-2026, roughly four-tenths below the national 4.2% September reading, with manufacturing employment up 2.7% year-over-year on the strength of engine and parts production tied to Lycoming Engines and its supply chain. Labor force participation has stabilized near 53,000-53,700 workers after early-2026 softness, even as national hiring cooled to 29,000 net jobs in September and Pennsylvania's own rate ticked up to 4.1% amid construction and government job losses statewide.
Open Threads in the Data
Manufacturing's local resilience, paired with advertised CDL driver pay climbing to a $90,000 metro median (versus $78,000 nationally), appears to reflect freight and logistics demand tied to regional production activity rather than a broad-based hiring surge. Commerce leaders evaluating site expansion or supplier investment should weigh this against statewide construction-sector contraction, which could affect project timelines and input costs; government and institutional stakeholders may find current conditions suggest a window to assess whether local wage gains in healthcare and skilled trades are outpacing the 3.4% national inflation rate enough to support sustained consumer spending.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Williamsport, PA 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 |
$28,058 |
↑ Moderate increase |
373 |
| Retail Cashier |
$30,712 |
→ Stable |
87 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$42,640 |
→ Stable |
117 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$90,000 |
↑ Significant increase |
585 |
| Delivery Driver |
$38,480 |
↓ Moderate decline |
326 |
| Warehouse Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$38,156 |
↑ Significant increase |
48 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$64,896 |
→ Stable |
53 |
| HVAC Technician |
$70,760 |
↑ Moderate increase |
3,434 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$37,960 |
→ Stable |
106 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$35,172 |
↓ Moderate decline |
106 |
| Operations Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$33,800 |
↑ Moderate increase |
30 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$37,555 |
↑ Significant increase |
420 |
| Registered Nurse |
$105,824 |
↑ Significant increase |
462 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$40,595 |
↑ Moderate increase |
52 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$148,564 |
↑ Moderate increase |
24,726 |
| Data Engineer |
$131,431 |
→ Stable |
9,177 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$60,156 |
→ Stable |
57 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$70,000 |
↑ Moderate increase |
3,696 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$62,371 |
→ Stable |
2,435 |
| Business Analyst |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$80,433 |
↑ Significant increase |
13 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$47,658 |
↑ Moderate increase |
175 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$65,279 |
↑ Significant increase |
31 |
Industry Snapshot · Williamsport, PA 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 |
↑ +24.6% |
↑ +30.9% |
| Manufacturing |
↑ +16.8% |
↑ +108.3% |
| Retail Trade |
→ +2.8% |
↑ +49.5% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
→ −1.2% |
↑ +296.9% |
| Information |
↑ +11.3% |
→ −2.7% |
| Financial Activities |
↓ −21.5% |
↑ +38.1% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↓ −4.2% |
↑ +88.1% |
| Education & Health Services |
→ +0.3% |
↑ +11.7% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
↓ −8.4% |
↑ +24.3% |
| Government |
↑ +65.8% |
↑ +447.2% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Expected data release
Pennsylvania's September metro-level employment figures for Williamsport are due October 27, offering the first confirmed read on whether the 3.8% unemployment rate held through late summer. Press and government economists should treat current figures as provisional until then.
Worth watching
Pennsylvania's 17 WARN notices over the past 90 days affected nearly 1,900 workers statewide, concentrated outside Lycoming County so far. Monitor whether logistics or retail disruptions elsewhere in the state begin to show up in regional filings.
Emerging pressure point
Labor force dropouts rose sharply statewide, from roughly 8,000 in early 2025 to over 15,000 by Q3 2025, a trend that could constrain available workers for the metro's growing manufacturing and healthcare employers if it persists locally.
Policy to monitor
Pennsylvania's House-passed minimum wage increase remains stalled in the Senate; any movement would affect advertised pay floors across retail and food service roles that make up a meaningful share of the metro's job postings.
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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