Labor Market Pulse

Honolulu, HI Metro Edition

Focus: IT

Honolulu IT pay splits: engineers surge, help desk collapses.

2.5%

Honolulu unemployment rate

Down from 2.7% in August; national rate 4.1%

-0.7%

Honolulu employment change

Year-over-year through Dec 2025 despite low jobless rate

$164,854

Software Engineer advertised pay, metro

vs $153,652 national median

$53,575

Help Desk/IT Support advertised pay, metro

Down significantly YoY; near $53,644 national median

This Month's Takeaways

01

Software engineering pay is outrunning the mainland.

Metro median advertised pay of $164,854 now exceeds the national median of $153,652, a reversal from typical coastal-premium patterns. This likely reflects Honolulu employers competing against remote-friendly mainland offers for a thin local bench, not a shift in cost-of-living economics.

02

Help desk pay collapse signals a function in decline.

Metro Help Desk/IT Support median fell sharply to $53,575, essentially flat with the $53,644 national figure and down significantly year-over-year locally. Combined with national data showing AI compressing demand for entry-level IT operations roles, this looks structural — budget the function for shrinkage, not replacement.

03

Cybersecurity premium reflects scarcity, not just demand.

Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay at $115,000 sits well above the $106,790 national median and is rising significantly, consistent with national data showing senior security roles reaching $400K. In a labor force this constrained, expect continued upward pressure until local pipeline programs like Hawaii Tech Days produce measurable supply.

04

Low unemployment is masking a shrinking labor pool.

Honolulu's 2.5% jobless rate looks reassuring, but it coexists with a 0.7% year-over-year employment decline, pointing to departures rather than job creation. Compensation benchmarking against unemployment alone risks understating how hard replacement hiring has become.

Local Labor Conditions

Honolulu's unemployment rate fell to 2.5% in September from 2.7% in August, yet employment declined 0.7% year-over-year through December 2025 — a tightness driven not by job creation but by a shrinking labor force and persistent outmigration. With 55% of state job openings coming from worker turnover rather than growth, Honolulu's IT employers are competing for a static or shrinking pool of local talent rather than benefiting from expansion-driven hiring.

Leadership & Talent Implications

Scarcity-driven tightness, not growth, means Honolulu IT leaders face a retention problem more than a hiring problem — Software Engineer pay climbing to a metro median of $164,854 (above the $153,652 national figure) signals employers bidding up specialized roles to prevent departures rather than fund new headcount. Help Desk/IT Support pay dropping sharply to $53,575 locally suggests commodity support functions are increasingly candidates for automation or outsourcing as AI tools absorb routine ticket volume. Consider reviewing which infrastructure and support roles can shift to contract or managed-service models while reserving permanent headcount and wage increases for cloud, security and engineering talent most exposed to local flight risk.

Advertised Pay Indicators

Role	P25	Median	P75	Local Trend	National	Nat. Trend
Data Scientist	$107,638	$126,800	$145,788	↑ Moderate increase	$148,250	↑ Moderate increase
Systems Administrator	$83,015	$97,506	$110,199	↑ Moderate increase	$101,168	↑ Moderate increase
Network Engineer	$83,038	$120,969	$129,591	→ Stable	$114,400	↑ Moderate increase
Software Engineer	$123,346	$164,854	$184,300	↑ Significant increase	$153,652	→ Stable
Help Desk/IT Support Specialist	$43,680	$53,575	$70,049	↓ Significant decline	$53,644	→ Stable
Cybersecurity Analyst	$88,808	$115,000	$130,575	↑ Significant increase	$106,790	↑ Moderate increase
IT Project Manager	$106,662	$122,490	$132,164	↑ Significant increase	$117,530	↑ Moderate increase

Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days

Worth watching

Hawaii Tech Days and related UH/Chamber of Commerce workshops launched this month to build local AI, IT and cybersecurity skills. Watch whether these pipeline efforts begin showing up in applicant volume for mid-level roles by Q1 2027, or whether the talent gap persists.

Emerging pressure point

National information-sector job losses in August alongside continued WARN activity from Amazon, Meta and Verizon raise the question of whether displaced mainland tech workers consider remote-friendly Honolulu openings. A meaningful inflow could ease pressure on engineering and security pay faster than local pipeline programs.

Early indicator

Network Engineer pay in Honolulu sits at $120,969, stable and already above the $114,400 national median — unusual for a role facing demand compression nationally. Track whether this stability holds or whether it follows Help Desk pay downward as automation reaches networking operations.

Potential inflection point

Hawaii's minimum wage rises again to $18.00 in January 2028, with compounding effects likely to show up in entry-level IT support and administrative pay well before then. Organizations budgeting multi-year IT support compensation should model this increase now rather than at implementation.

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