The Quad Cities labor market added approximately 2600 jobs from June 2022 to June 2023 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The second quarter ended with total nonfarm employment at 186,600 jobs.

As of the end of the quarter, the unemployment rate stood at about 4.4 percent in the Quad Cities MSA, up slightly from its most recent low of 3.5 percent in April. Across the metro area, the rate ranged from 3.6 percent in Scott County to 5.3 percent in Rock Island County. In previous Quarterly Market Reports, we had noted the strength of the labor market and pointed out that unemployment rates below 4% are an indication that the labor market is fairly tight and that there is likely to be competition for workers, potentially driving up wages. This may continue to be an issue for parts of our region where specific types of jobs are clustered. We noted the strength of the Scott County labor market in a recent blog post. Wages in Scott country rose 10.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023 which was the 36th highest out of the 361 most populous counties in the U.S. (Scott County is the only county in our MSA on that list.)

In general, however, wages in the Midwest remain competitive. Both wages and benefits remain below the national average for most occupations. In the Quad Cities specifically, wages for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers as well as wages for machinists, are comparable to the national average while wages for most other occupations are below the national average.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, stronger-than-expected economic growth (see the main summary article) could keep the pressure on wages unless the Federal Reserve can bring inflation back into the 2 to 3 percent range.