{"schema_version": 1, "id": "louisville-jefferson-county-ky-in-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 310, "label": "Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN MSA", "slug": "louisville-jefferson-county-ky-in-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:19:07.106475+00:00", "headline": "Louisville IT pay splits: security climbs, data science and networking fall.", "headline_summary": "Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay rose to $96,529 in Louisville while Data Scientist pay fell to $128,065 and Network Engineer pay dropped to $98,233, even as metro unemployment held at 4.1%.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Metro unemployment rate", "value": "4.1%", "context": "Unchanged year-over-year, August 2026"}, {"label": "Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay", "value": "$96,529", "context": "Up moderately vs. national $107,327"}, {"label": "Network Engineer advertised pay gap", "value": "-$17,524", "context": "Metro vs. national median, widening"}, {"label": "National tech layoffs, YTD", "value": "133,417", "context": "Already exceeds full-year 2025 total"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Security pay rises while data science pay slides.", "body": "Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay moved up to $96,529 locally while Data Scientist pay dropped to $128,065, a reversal of roles compared to a year ago. Treat this as a signal to re-rank open analytics requisitions against security hires when headcount is constrained."}, {"headline": "Network Engineer pay drop may open an outsourcing window.", "body": "Local Network Engineer advertised pay fell to $98,233 against a rising national median of $115,757 \u2014 a widening gap that could make Louisville-based hiring or nearshore staffing comparatively more attractive than coastal markets. Organizations weighing build-vs-buy on network operations should model this spread before locking in offshore contracts."}, {"headline": "Help desk pay erosion signals entry-level pipeline risk.", "body": "Help Desk/IT Support advertised pay fell to $46,362 locally, compounding the national pattern of 8% unemployment among workers 20-24 versus 3% for prime-age workers. Support function staffing plans built on steady junior talent inflow may need a longer runway for backfills."}, {"headline": "GE Appliances and Ford capital spending bypasses office IT headcount.", "body": "Two separate $1 billion local investments are flowing into manufacturing infrastructure, concentrating growth in industrial and production roles rather than administrative or office functions, consistent with the metro's broader low-hire posture outside industrial capital projects. IT leaders supporting these employers should expect demand for OT/industrial systems skills to outpace demand for traditional corporate IT roles."}], "local_conditions": "Louisville's metro unemployment held at 4.1% in August, but KentuckianaWorks' own read of the market as \"low hire, low fire\" is consistent with the national pattern of employers protecting headcount while slowing new requisitions. Finance and insurance job losses continue to weigh on the region even as Ford's $1 billion paint shop investment and GE Appliances' $1 billion Appliance Park expansion point to capital flowing into physical infrastructure, with office-based headcount seeing comparatively little of that investment.", "implications": "Advertised pay for Software Engineer ($140,804) and Cybersecurity Analyst ($96,529) in Louisville climbed this month while Network Engineer, Data Scientist, and IT Project Manager pay fell \u2014 a divergence consistent with national data showing employers paying premiums for AI-adjacent and security skills while routine technical and coordination roles face softer demand. Build-vs-buy decisions for infrastructure and network functions look more attractive locally given the Network Engineer pay pullback, while the gap between rising security pay and falling Data Scientist pay suggests budget reallocation toward defensive capability over analytics headcount. Consider reviewing whether current infrastructure and data science req levels reflect this shift, or whether postings are being left open on outdated pay assumptions.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Finance and insurance sector job losses are projected to continue locally; watch whether displaced compliance and risk-adjacent talent shows interest in cybersecurity or GRC roles, potentially easing the security hiring crunch."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Software Engineer advertised pay rose locally while national pay held stable \u2014 if that gap persists, retention risk may concentrate in senior engineering roles courted by remote employers offering coastal-market compensation."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Kentucky's bioscience sector grew 6.9% since 2021 with average wages above $113,000; expansion here could create adjacent demand for healthcare-IT and research-systems talent competing with traditional enterprise IT for the same candidate pool."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National tech layoffs have already exceeded 133,000 for the year; watch whether released infrastructure or security talent from larger markets begins appearing in Louisville applicant pools, which could soften local pay pressure for scarce skills."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 101487.0, "metro_p50": 128064.8, "metro_p75": 148600.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 145881.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Systems Administrator", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 71697.75, "metro_p50": 85799.0, "metro_p75": 94623.5, "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": 67945.0, "metro_p50": 98233.0, "metro_p75": 105588.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 115757.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 98389.0, "metro_p50": 140804.0, "metro_p75": 154109.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 154403.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Help Desk/IT Support Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 40351.0, "metro_p50": 46362.0, "metro_p75": 50534.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 53129.0, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Cybersecurity Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 74188.0, "metro_p50": 96529.0, "metro_p75": 119981.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 107327.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "IT Project Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 93490.5, "metro_p50": 108160.0, "metro_p75": 117970.75, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 118149.8, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "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": "November 2026", "files": {"html": "louisville-jefferson-county-ky-in-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "louisville-jefferson-county-ky-in-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:25:22.606055+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/louisville-jefferson-county-ky-in-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/louisville-jefferson-county-ky-in-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}