{"schema_version": 1, "id": "elmira-ny-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 146, "label": "Elmira, NY MSA", "slug": "elmira-ny-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:09:04.494222+00:00", "headline": "Elmira network and help desk pay slide as software engineering pay climbs.", "headline_summary": "Metro Network Engineer pay fell significantly to $119,556 and Help Desk pay dropped to $46,603, even as Software Engineer pay rose to $142,482 against a stable national median.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Elmira MSA unemployment", "value": "4.0%", "context": "Up from 3.9% in June 2026"}, {"label": "Chemung County unemployment", "value": "4.2%", "context": "Up from 4.0% in July 2026"}, {"label": "Average weekly wage, Chemung County", "value": "$1,248", "context": "vs. $1,654 national average"}, {"label": "Network Engineer pay trend", "value": "Down, significant", "context": "vs. up moderate nationally ($115,757)"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Network Engineer pay is falling locally while rising nationally.", "body": "Metro median pay for Network Engineers dropped significantly even as the national figure moved up moderately, a reversal that may reflect softer regional demand for premium infrastructure skills relative to other metros. Compensation benchmarking for this role now needs a local lens alongside national survey data."}, {"headline": "Help Desk pay erosion signals a buyer's market for support talent.", "body": "Advertised pay for Help Desk/IT Support fell sharply both locally ($46,603) and nationally, consistent with continued softness in entry-level tech hiring documented statewide. This may widen the window for filling support-tier roles locally without matching prior-year pay levels."}, {"headline": "Software Engineer pay is climbing against a stable national trend.", "body": "Metro Software Engineer pay rose significantly to $142,482 while the national median held stable, narrowing the gap with national figures. Retention budgets for build-side engineering talent may need upward revision even where broader local wage growth lags the state and national pace."}, {"headline": "Area wage levels still trail national benchmarks by a wide margin.", "body": "Chemung County's $1,248 average weekly wage sits roughly 25% below the $1,654 national average, a gap that predates this month but compounds build-vs-buy tradeoffs as remote and offshore options gain traction nationally. Outsourcing routine infrastructure and support work may be less attractive locally than in higher-cost metros, given the existing pay discount."}], "local_conditions": "Elmira MSA unemployment ticked up to 4.0% in July and Chemung County rose further to 4.2% in August, tracking a slower-growth pattern consistent with New York's statewide payroll contraction that triggered the 2027 minimum wage freeze. Regional average weekly wages of $1,248 remain roughly 25% below the national average of $1,654, reflecting a labor market still anchored in manufacturing and healthcare, a contrast with the higher-wage tech employment reshaping metro and national compensation structures.", "implications": "Network Engineer pay fell significantly in the metro even as national rates climbed, and Help Desk/IT Support pay dropped sharply both locally and nationally \u2014 a divergence that suggests infrastructure and support functions here face weaker local bargaining power than peer metros, even as national data show sustained posting growth for infrastructure and security roles. Combined with softening area unemployment and below-national wage levels, this may create an opening to backfill infrastructure and support positions locally at a relative discount while reserving premium spend for specialized or cloud-facing talent that requires competing against metro and national markets alike. Organizations should evaluate whether current infrastructure and support pay levels reflect a real retention risk or an opportunity to rebalance headcount toward lower-cost local hires.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Chemung County unemployment rose from 4.0% to 4.2% between July and August; a continued climb would tighten the pool of available infrastructure and support candidates even as pay for those roles softens."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "New York's statewide minimum wage freeze and continued private-sector job losses in NYC may push displaced workers, including tech-adjacent talent, toward secondary markets like Elmira \u2014 watch regional job boards and the November 11 Corning-area job fair for early signs."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "National data show data center and infrastructure hiring as a top-five growth sector while tech hubs contract; whether that demand extends to secondary manufacturing-heavy metros like Elmira will shape build-vs-outsource decisions for on-prem and hybrid teams."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Software Engineer pay's significant local rise against a stable national trend could either stabilize or reverse next month \u2014 a sustained climb would suggest local employers are bidding up scarce build talent against both other metros and remote-hiring competitors."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 121200.0, "metro_p50": 153654.0, "metro_p75": 169414.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 145881.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Systems Administrator", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 76886.0, "metro_p50": 95609.0, "metro_p75": 105130.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 102503.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Network Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 84305.0, "metro_p50": 119555.8, "metro_p75": 124150.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 115757.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 117636.0, "metro_p50": 142482.0, "metro_p75": 144902.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 154403.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Help Desk/IT Support Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 42484.0, "metro_p50": 46603.0, "metro_p75": 47139.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 53129.0, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Cybersecurity Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 82505.75, "metro_p50": 100003.0, "metro_p75": 118665.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 107327.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "IT Project Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 79861.0, "metro_p50": 113785.6, "metro_p75": 124800.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 118149.8, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Federal Reserve Economic Data / BLS", "source_url": null, "statement": "Elmira MSA unemployment at 4.0% in July 2026, Chemung County 4.2% in August"}, {"source_name": "BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages", "source_url": null, "statement": "Chemung County average weekly wage of $1,248 vs. national $1,654"}, {"source_name": "Indeed Hiring Lab", "source_url": null, "statement": "National infrastructure and security job postings grew amid tech hub pullbacks"}, {"source_name": "Washington Post", "source_url": null, "statement": "New York minimum wage freeze triggered by statewide job losses"}], "methodology": "Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay.", "edition_label": "November 2026", "files": {"html": "elmira-ny-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "elmira-ny-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:21:30.200646+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/elmira-ny-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/elmira-ny-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}