Negotiating pay when I have been out of work (Raleigh)

A recruiter asked for my salary expectations on a first call as I look for work as a forklift operator. I have read a lot of threads here and could not find my exact situation. I looked up ranges in Raleigh and they vary a lot. How do you research fairly?

I gave a range based on local postings and said I was flexible depending on the whole package. They did not push back.