{"schema_version": 1, "id": "pueblo-co-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 406, "label": "Pueblo, CO MSA", "slug": "pueblo-co-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:30:14.640061+00:00", "headline": "Pueblo IT pay splits sharply as unemployment climbs to 6.6%.", "headline_summary": "Pueblo MSA unemployment hit 6.6% in August while Cybersecurity Analyst pay rose significantly to $114,879 and Help Desk pay fell to $56,081, underscoring a widening gap between scarce technical talent and a loosening general labor pool.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Pueblo MSA unemployment rate", "value": "6.6%", "context": "Up from 6.1% in July 2026"}, {"label": "Pueblo County mean wages", "value": "$52,379", "context": "Down from $53,796 in 2023"}, {"label": "Colorado tech sector median wage", "value": "$103,946", "context": "118% above all-occupation median statewide"}, {"label": "National tech layoffs YTD", "value": "133,417", "context": "Already exceeds full-year 2025 total"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Help desk pay is falling even as specialist roles climb.", "body": "Help Desk/IT Support advertised pay dropped significantly to $56,081, a 5.6% premium over the national median, while Cybersecurity Analyst and Network Engineer pay rose significantly and moderately. This divergence suggests employers can fill entry-tier support locally but must pay up for scarce technical specialists \u2014 a signal to rebalance headcount investment toward retention of security and network talent."}, {"headline": "Metro unemployment rising doesn't mean IT talent is more available.", "body": "Pueblo's 6.6% unemployment rate reflects job losses concentrated in manufacturing and low-wage service work, with technical talent remaining scarce. IT leaders counting on a looser labor market to ease hiring should treat this as a false signal for specialized roles."}, {"headline": "Software Engineer pay softening locally bucks the state's AI-driven wage story.", "body": "Metro Software Engineer advertised pay fell moderately to $158,282 even as national IT systems wages grew 4.7% year-over-year and Colorado AI-adjacent roles saw outsized gains. Local demand for premium engineering talent appears to be cooling faster than the broader market, worth testing before assuming parity with state or national trends."}, {"headline": "Systems Administrator pay growth signals infrastructure investment alongside scarcity.", "body": "Metro Systems Administrator pay rose to $105,378, moderate growth that now sits above the national median of $102,503. Combined with national data showing data center postings up 20% in three months, this may reflect Pueblo-area employers building out on-premise or hybrid infrastructure capacity, a dynamic distinct from simply competing for a thin candidate pool."}], "local_conditions": "Pueblo MSA unemployment climbed to 6.6% in August 2026, up from 6.1% in July, as the Mission Foods tortilla plant closure eliminated roughly 90 jobs and local job openings continued to decline across sectors. Metro wage levels remain depressed relative to the state \u2014 Pueblo County mean wages fell from $53,796 in 2023 to $52,379 in 2024 \u2014 even as Colorado's statewide tech sector posts median wages of $103,946, creating a widening gap that shapes how far IT compensation budgets stretch locally.", "implications": "Rising metro unemployment alongside a shrinking local labor supply signals a mismatch: more job seekers overall, but not necessarily more qualified IT candidates, since Pueblo's occupational base skews toward administrative, food service and sales roles, with technical talent remaining comparatively scarce. Advertised pay for Cybersecurity Analyst (metro median $114,879, up significantly) and Network Engineer ($121,483, up moderately) is outpacing Help Desk/IT Support ($56,081, down significantly), based on job ads, a signal of hiring demand (one ad often covers several openings), suggesting local employers are bidding up scarce specialized skills while support-tier roles face downward pressure from a looser labor pool. Consider evaluating whether routine support and help desk functions can shift toward remote or outsourced delivery while reserving locally-based hiring budget for security and infrastructure roles where Pueblo's advertised pay is climbing.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Track whether workers displaced by the Mission Foods closure and other manufacturing layoffs show up in administrative or entry-level IT support applicant pools over the next two months, given Pueblo's already soft help desk pay trend."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Colorado's tech sector labor force has shrunk by roughly 95,000 over two years, concentrated among workers 55 and older. Watch whether Pueblo's smaller IT base experiences a disproportionate share of this retirement-driven attrition given fewer local backfill candidates."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "National tech layoffs have already exceeded all of 2025 with 133,417 cuts through October 21. Monitor whether any Front Range tech displacement extends into southern Colorado as remote-eligible candidates look toward lower cost-of-living metros like Pueblo."}, {"category": "Expected", "body": "Colorado's September unemployment data (4.1%, up from 3.9% earlier in 2026) and the state's November 20 release will clarify whether Pueblo's deterioration is metro-specific or part of a broader statewide softening that could ease competition for technical hires."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 105536.0, "metro_p50": 105536.0, "metro_p75": 105717.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 145881.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Systems Administrator", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 81703.0, "metro_p50": 105377.6, "metro_p75": 117700.0, "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": 81782.0, "metro_p50": 121483.0, "metro_p75": 132988.0, "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": 142865.75, "metro_p50": 158281.6, "metro_p75": 163840.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "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": 46956.0, "metro_p50": 56081.0, "metro_p75": 64500.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 53129.0, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Cybersecurity Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 90524.0, "metro_p50": 114879.0, "metro_p75": 129046.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 107327.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "IT Project Manager", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 82822.0, "metro_p50": 118590.0, "metro_p75": 129261.0, "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": "U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics / FRED", "source_url": null, "statement": "Pueblo MSA unemployment reached 6.6% in August 2026"}, {"source_name": "Scott James / Colorado labor analysis", "source_url": null, "statement": "Mission Foods closed Pueblo plant, eliminating 90 jobs"}, {"source_name": "Pueblo Economic & Workforce Development Dashboard", "source_url": null, "statement": "Pueblo County mean wages declined 2023 to 2024"}, {"source_name": "Colorado labor market research notes", "source_url": null, "statement": "Colorado tech sector employs 248,000 with $103,946 median wage"}, {"source_name": "Colorado Department of Labor and Employment", "source_url": null, "statement": "Colorado labor force shrank ~95,000 in two years, 62% age 55+"}, {"source_name": "Tech layoff tracking aggregator", "source_url": null, "statement": "133,417 tech employees laid off at 325 companies through Oct 21, 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": "pueblo-co-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "pueblo-co-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:28:41.960130+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/pueblo-co-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/pueblo-co-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}