{"schema_version": 1, "id": "palm-coast-fl-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 331, "label": "Palm Coast, FL MSA", "slug": "palm-coast-fl-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:27:54.115374+00:00", "headline": "Palm Coast IT pay climbs even as local labor market lags.", "headline_summary": "Flagler County unemployment sits at 5.5%, well above the state's 4.4%, yet advertised pay for Systems Administrators ($93,039) and Software Engineers ($146,023) in the metro is trending up \u2014 a split worth building hiring strategy around.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Flagler County unemployment", "value": "5.5%", "context": "vs 4.4% Florida, 4.2% national (Aug/Sep 2026)"}, {"label": "Flagler average weekly wage", "value": "$1,006", "context": "vs $1,518 statewide (Q1 2026)"}, {"label": "Flagler civilian labor force", "value": "56,612", "context": "September 2026, continued growth"}, {"label": "National tech layoffs YTD", "value": "133,417 workers", "context": "325 companies, exceeds all of 2025"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Local wage softness doesn't extend to IT roles.", "body": "While Flagler County's overall average weekly wage sits well below state and national levels, advertised pay for Systems Administrator ($93,039), Network Engineer ($104,117), and IT Project Manager ($118,454) in the metro trend up or stable \u2014 a sign IT compensation is decoupling from the broader local labor market softness."}, {"headline": "Cybersecurity pay gap signals a talent transfer problem.", "body": "Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay ($101,485) trails the national median ($107,327) even as Florida holds the fourth-highest count of information security analyst positions nationally. ReliaQuest's Brian Murphy frames this as a training and mobility issue \u2014 suggesting internal upskilling pipelines may close the gap faster than external recruiting in a market this thin."}, {"headline": "Software Engineer pay climbing locally while national pay holds flat.", "body": "Metro Software Engineer advertised pay is up (moderate) to $146,023 against a stable national median of $154,403 \u2014 the gap is narrowing. Organizations should evaluate whether this reflects local demand tightening or a smaller, more volatile sample skewing the trend."}, {"headline": "Help Desk pay stagnation mirrors a national support-tier retreat.", "body": "Metro Help Desk/IT Support pay is stable at $49,886 while the national median is falling. Entry-tier IT support may be the first function where outsourcing or AI-assisted triage tools become economically preferable to local headcount expansion."}], "local_conditions": "Flagler County's unemployment rate held at 5.5% in August, up from 4.2% a year earlier and still running above both the state's 4.4% and the national 4.2% rate, even as the civilian labor force expanded to 56,612 in September. Local wage levels remain compressed relative to peers \u2014 Flagler's average weekly wage of $1,006 trails Florida's statewide $1,518 \u2014 reflecting a metro economy anchored in healthcare, retail, and tourism, with a thin local tech employer base.", "implications": "Thin local tech density means most Palm Coast IT leaders are effectively competing in a regional or national labor pool for specialized roles \u2014 cybersecurity, systems administration, and software engineering candidates here benchmark against Orlando, Jacksonville, and remote national postings, extending well beyond county conditions. With statewide AI readiness ranked 35th and only 11.3% of Florida businesses using AI tools, building in-house AI-adjacent capability locally carries real execution risk, while national data shows 87% of tech leaders already paying premiums for specialized skills. Consider evaluating whether infrastructure and security roles requiring emerging cloud-native skills are better filled through regional contractors or managed service providers, weighed against a local build strategy.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Flagler County's labor force grew to 56,612 in September even as unemployment stayed elevated at 5.5% \u2014 watch whether this reflects new entrants or returning job seekers, since either dynamic changes the depth of the local IT and support-function candidate pool."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "National tech layoffs have already exceeded 133,000 workers for all of 2025, concentrated outside Florida. Watch whether displaced talent from larger metros begins surfacing in Palm Coast-area applicant pools, particularly for remote-eligible infrastructure and security roles."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Florida's AI adoption lag (11.3% of businesses) combined with a 266% rise in South Florida AI-related postings suggests a widening intra-state divide. Palm Coast employers may need to track Orlando and Jacksonville compensation trends closely as regional AI-skill premiums spill over into broader IT hiring."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Florida's September minimum wage increase to $15.00 may compress entry-level pay differentials across retail, hospitality, and entry-tier IT support roles. Watch whether Help Desk pay, currently stable locally, faces upward pressure as the wage floor rises beneath it."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 109224.25, "metro_p50": 135877.0, "metro_p75": 152227.5, "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": 75595.0, "metro_p50": 93039.0, "metro_p75": 102654.0, "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": 76166.0, "metro_p50": 104117.2, "metro_p75": 119600.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 115757.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 109907.0, "metro_p50": 146023.0, "metro_p75": 157888.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 39525.5, "metro_p50": 49885.8, "metro_p75": 55920.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 53129.0, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Cybersecurity Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 83578.0, "metro_p50": 101485.0, "metro_p75": 115000.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 90470.5, "metro_p50": 118454.0, "metro_p75": 130000.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 118149.8, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "FlaglerLive", "source_url": null, "statement": "Flagler County unemployment rate at 5.5% in August 2026"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics / QCEW", "source_url": null, "statement": "Flagler County average weekly wage of $1,006 as of March 2026"}, {"source_name": "State of Florida AI readiness research", "source_url": null, "statement": "Florida ranks 35th in AI readiness, 11.3% of businesses using AI tools"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational data", "source_url": null, "statement": "Florida has fourth-highest count of information security analyst positions (13,770)"}, {"source_name": "Layoffs.fyi / tech layoff tracking", "source_url": null, "statement": "133,417 tech employees laid off at 325 companies through Oct 21, 2026"}, {"source_name": "State of Florida", "source_url": null, "statement": "Florida minimum wage increased to $15.00/hour September 30, 2026"}], "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": "palm-coast-fl-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "palm-coast-fl-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:27:59.064761+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/palm-coast-fl-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/palm-coast-fl-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}