Sources & References
Metro Job Market Pulse · Winston-Salem, NC MSA · October 2026
Every advertised-pay, job-posting and industry figure in this briefing comes from WageScape's own database of active job postings. The sources below back the external facts cited in the written analysis.
Sources cited in this report
Key Indicators
National wage growth at 3.0% vs 3.4% inflation
Bureau of Labor Statistics — Average hourly earnings and CPI data, September 2026
This Month's Takeaways
Winston-Salem Q1 2026 quarterly wages reached $4.78 billion
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (QCEW) — Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Q1 2026
Local Economic Conditions
Winston-Salem MSA unemployment rate was 3.8% in July 2026
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Metro area unemployment statistics, preliminary July 2026
National nonfarm payrolls added 29,000 jobs in September, prior months revised down
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — National employment situation report, September 2026
Looking Ahead
NC labor force participation fell to 57.8%, down 1.6 points year-over-year
North Carolina Department of Commerce / BLS — State labor force participation data, August 2026
NC WARN notices total 61 in 2026, concentrated in manufacturing and transportation
North Carolina Department of Commerce — WARN Act notice filings, year-to-date 2026
How the numbers are calculated
- Advertised pay is the median of the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro. It is not survey or payroll data.
- Percent changes compare the latest six full months with the six months before that, for the same metro and sector.
- Sectors group postings by the employer's industry (NAICS) classification into ten sectors. Where a metro has too few postings in a sector, the state figure is used instead.
- Role pay trends use the same comparison windows. "Stable" means a change of less than 3%; "moderate" 3–10%; "significant" more than 10%.
Official data for comparison