{"schema_version": 1, "id": "hinesville-fort-stewart-ga-msa/information-technology/2026-09", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 247, "label": "Hinesville-Fort Stewart, GA MSA", "slug": "hinesville-fort-stewart-ga-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-09", "public_after": "2026-09-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T13:15:31.230711+00:00", "headline": "Hinesville IT hiring narrows even as Information jobs spike 39.5%.", "headline_summary": "Metro unemployment held at 3.9% and total payrolls stayed flat at 22,100 jobs, but Network Engineer pay fell to a $83,133 median locally while climbing to $114,400 nationally \u2014 a gap that raises retention stakes.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Metro unemployment rate", "value": "3.9%", "context": "Unchanged month-over-month, Sept 2026"}, {"label": "Information sector employment growth", "value": "39.5%", "context": "Vs flat total metro payrolls at 22,100 jobs"}, {"label": "Network Engineer pay divergence", "value": "$83,133 vs $114,400", "context": "Metro down vs national up, moderate magnitude"}, {"label": "Georgia IT job postings", "value": "-28.1% YoY", "context": "Through July 2026, statewide pullback"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Network Engineer pay is drifting the wrong direction locally.", "body": "Metro median sits at $83,133, down moderately, while the national median climbed to $114,400. A gap this wide invites remote-work poaching from higher-paying metros and warrants a compensation review before attrition forces the issue."}, {"headline": "Information sector growth looks like a base-driven anomaly, not a trend.", "body": "39.5% employment growth in Information arrives even as total metro jobs stayed flat at 22,100, suggesting reallocation tied to Fort Stewart operations rather than new commercial demand. Treat this as a signal to monitor, not a baseline to plan hiring around."}, {"headline": "Manufacturing's decline could loosen adjacent technical labor supply.", "body": "An 8.3% manufacturing employment drop with a 5.5% wage decline may push displaced technical workers toward IT support and infrastructure roles. This could ease hiring pressure on entry-level IT functions over the next two quarters."}, {"headline": "Georgia's statewide IT posting slump masks local retention exposure.", "body": "A 28.1% year-over-year drop in Georgia IT job postings signals cooling external demand, but Georgia's 3.2% unemployment rate \u2014 a two-year low \u2014 means the people IT leaders already employ have more leverage, not less."}], "local_conditions": "Hinesville's unemployment rate held at 3.9% in a metro economy still anchored by Fort Stewart, even as Information sector employment surged 39.5% against a backdrop of flat total payrolls at 22,100 jobs \u2014 a sign hiring gains are concentrated rather than broad-based. Manufacturing's 8.3% employment decline and a statewide 28.1% year-over-year drop in Georgia IT postings suggest local tech hiring is being driven by niche demand and base realignment rather than a general expansion.", "implications": "Flat total payrolls alongside outsized Information sector growth indicates Hinesville IT hiring is narrow and mission-driven, likely tied to defense contracting and base-support functions rather than commercial tech expansion. With statewide IT postings down sharply and Network Engineer pay locally diverging from a rising national median, retention risk concentrates in specialized infrastructure and security roles where losing even one person is costly to replace in a thin local talent pool. Consider reviewing retention budgets for network and security staff against national pay trajectories rather than local medians, since outmigration risk is now a national, not just regional, competition.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Government employment fell 8.4% year-over-year in Q1 2026, reflecting Fort Stewart staffing adjustments. Any further base-related workforce shifts could directly affect Information sector hiring, which currently drives most of the metro's tech employment growth."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Network Engineer advertised pay is down moderately in Hinesville while rising nationally, widening a gap that typically precedes remote-work departures. Watch whether local postings begin adjusting upward to close the spread."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Nearshore staffing in Latin America is gaining traction statewide for scarce senior engineering talent at 30-50% cost savings. If this model reaches smaller metros like Hinesville, it could reshape build-vs-buy decisions for infrastructure roles currently filled locally."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Manufacturing's continued contraction may release technical workers into the broader labor pool over the next 60 days. IT leaders filling support or admin roles should watch whether this translates into higher-quality, lower-cost applicant flow."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 116032.0, "metro_p50": 143494.6, "metro_p75": 161800.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 148250.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Systems Administrator", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 76153.0, "metro_p50": 91356.8, "metro_p75": 101617.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 101168.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Network Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 56818.75, "metro_p50": 83133.0, "metro_p75": 100643.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 114400.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 113828.0, "metro_p50": 151646.0, "metro_p75": 165000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 153652.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Help Desk/IT Support Specialist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 41655.0, "metro_p50": 50437.6, "metro_p75": 55225.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 53644.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Cybersecurity Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 85498.0, "metro_p50": 98040.0, "metro_p75": 114543.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 106790.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "IT Project Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 81309.0, "metro_p50": 114290.0, "metro_p75": 128461.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 117530.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [], "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": "October 2026", "files": {"html": "hinesville-fort-stewart-ga-msa/information-technology/2026-09.html", "pdf": "hinesville-fort-stewart-ga-msa/information-technology/2026-09.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T14:31:33.885940+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/hinesville-fort-stewart-ga-msa/information-technology/2026-09.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/hinesville-fort-stewart-ga-msa/information-technology/2026-09.pdf"}