{"schema_version": 1, "id": "glens-falls-ny-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 170, "label": "Glens Falls, NY MSA", "slug": "glens-falls-ny-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:12:18.095254+00:00", "headline": "Glens Falls IT pay splits: support rises, engineering falls.", "headline_summary": "Help Desk pay in Glens Falls runs 55% above the national median at $82,500 while Software Engineer pay fell significantly to $150,307, even as the metro shed 300 jobs in September.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Metro job change", "value": "-300 jobs", "context": "September 2026, extends -1.2% YoY nonfarm decline"}, {"label": "Metro unemployment rate", "value": "3.4%", "context": "July 2026, vs 4.1% national rate"}, {"label": "Help Desk pay gap", "value": "+55%", "context": "$82,500 metro vs $53,129 national median"}, {"label": "Software Engineer pay shift", "value": "Down significantly", "context": "$150,307 metro vs stable $154,403 national"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Help Desk pay here outpaces the nation by over 55%.", "body": "Metro Help Desk/IT Support median of $82,500 compares to a national figure of $53,129 that is itself declining. Local scarcity appears to be driving a premium for support talent that national trend data would not predict \u2014 a reason to benchmark this role against local data rather than against national percentile tables."}, {"headline": "Software Engineer pay is falling locally while holding nationally.", "body": "Metro Software Engineer median dropped significantly to $150,307 against a stable national $154,403. This divergence is consistent with reduced local build-out demand and may reflect fewer competing employers for development talent in a contracting metro."}, {"headline": "A shrinking labor force is tightening supply even as jobs disappear.", "body": "Civilian labor force in the metro has trended down from 59,759 in September 2025 while the MSA lost jobs through September 2026. Fewer available workers against fewer jobs can still produce hiring friction for specialized roles like Network Engineer and Cybersecurity Analyst, where local pay already sits close to or above national medians."}, {"headline": "Infrastructure and security roles may be the quiet build-vs-buy lever.", "body": "Statewide, Security Architect and Infrastructure Security Engineer job ads, a signal of hiring demand (one ad often covers several openings), grew over 150% month-over-month in September while AI roles absorb outsized budget elsewhere. Glens Falls employers competing for a thin bench of specialized infrastructure talent may find outsourcing routine security operations more economical than building internal depth."}], "local_conditions": "Glens Falls MSA shed 300 jobs in September 2026, extending a contraction pattern that has pushed nonfarm employment down 1.2% year-over-year through July, even as the July unemployment rate held at a comparatively tight 3.4% and Saratoga County registered 3.2% in August. A shrinking labor force against a tight jobless rate signals supply-side scarcity \u2014 fewer workers are available even as the overall job count declines, a dynamic distinct from the slack seen in larger New York metros.", "implications": "Metro-level contraction paired with a 3.4% unemployment rate means IT leaders are competing for a shrinking local talent pool, even as statewide tech hiring turns more selective. Falling Software Engineer pay (down significantly against a stable national median) alongside rising Help Desk pay ($82,500 locally vs. $53,129 nationally) suggests local demand has shifted toward operational and support capacity over development build-out. Consider reviewing whether current infrastructure and support headcount plans reflect this scarcity, particularly before assuming remote or hybrid sourcing from denser labor markets will close the gap at historical cost.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Watch whether the September 300-job decline continues into October MSA data when BLS releases it. A third consecutive month of contraction would strengthen the case for delaying discretionary IT headcount expansion in the metro."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Software Engineer pay fell significantly locally this month; track whether this is a one-month anomaly or the start of a sustained divergence from the stable national trend, which would affect build-vs-buy calculus for development work."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Statewide infrastructure and security job ads, which track hiring demand and often cover several openings each, are up over 150% month-over-month while the AI talent market tightens elsewhere in New York. Expect continued competition for Network Engineer and Cybersecurity Analyst talent locally, where pay already sits near or above national medians."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "New York's minimum wage freeze and statewide job losses have prompted Governor Hochul to pledge workarounds. Any policy shift could affect entry-level IT support wage floors in a metro where Help Desk pay already runs well above national levels."}], "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 73348.0, "metro_p50": 108043.0, "metro_p75": 128655.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 115757.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 114629.25, "metro_p50": 150307.0, "metro_p75": 213480.75, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "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": 46342.5, "metro_p50": 82500.0, "metro_p75": 90773.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "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": "USA Facts / Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Glens Falls MSA lost 300 jobs in September 2026"}, {"source_name": "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": "https://www.bls.gov", "statement": "Glens Falls MSA unemployment rate was 3.4% in July 2026"}, {"source_name": "New York State Department of Labor", "source_url": null, "statement": "Saratoga County unemployment rate was 3.2% in August 2026"}, {"source_name": "New York State labor market research notes", "source_url": null, "statement": "Security and infrastructure roles saw 150%+ month-over-month posting growth statewide"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": "https://www.bls.gov", "statement": "National average hourly earnings rose 4.1% year-over-year"}], "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": "glens-falls-ny-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "glens-falls-ny-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:22:23.074935+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/glens-falls-ny-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/glens-falls-ny-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}