{"schema_version": 1, "id": "reading-pa-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 355, "label": "Reading, PA MSA", "slug": "reading-pa-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:28:40.922026+00:00", "headline": "Reading IT infrastructure pay falls as national rates climb.", "headline_summary": "Berks County systems administrator pay dropped to $80,506 against a national median of $102,503 moving upward, while cybersecurity analyst pay held flat at near-parity with the national rate.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Systems Administrator pay gap", "value": "22% below national", "context": "$80,506 metro vs $102,503 national, local down significantly"}, {"label": "Berks County unemployment", "value": "4.3%", "context": "vs 3.6% statewide, vs 4.1% nationally"}, {"label": "Comcast PA WARN filing", "value": "634 workers", "context": "Layoffs begin Dec. 31, 2026, statewide filing"}, {"label": "Cybersecurity Analyst pay parity", "value": "$109,437 metro", "context": "vs $107,327 national, both stable"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Infrastructure pay in Reading is falling as national rates climb.", "body": "Systems administrator advertised pay dropped significantly locally to $80,506 against a national median of $102,503 that moved up \u2014 a 22% gap. Network engineer pay tells the same story: $97,268 locally versus $115,757 nationally, with local pay down significantly while national pay rises on data center buildout demand."}, {"headline": "Cybersecurity pay is the one infrastructure role holding steady.", "body": "Cybersecurity analyst advertised pay sits at $109,437 locally versus $107,327 nationally \u2014 essentially at parity, and stable in both directions. That parity, against declines in adjacent infrastructure roles, may signal employers are protecting security budgets while trimming elsewhere in IT operations."}, {"headline": "Comcast's 634-worker WARN filing could loosen the regional talent pool.", "body": "Comcast Technology Center's Pennsylvania layoff, effective December 31, sits outside Berks County but close enough to draw displaced technical and support talent into the Reading labor shed. Watch whether released workers price into local roles below current advertised medians, further softening systems administrator and help desk pay."}, {"headline": "Local IT project manager pay decline may reflect project delay.", "body": "IT Project Manager advertised pay fell moderately to $105,000 against a stable national median of $118,150. Pennsylvania data showing 71% of tech leaders report AI and security skills shortages causing project delays suggests fewer active projects locally, a pattern distinct from any repricing of the role itself \u2014 a distinction that matters for how this is benchmarked going forward."}], "local_conditions": "Berks County unemployment held at 4.3% in August 2026, above both the Pennsylvania rate of 3.6% and running against a manufacturing-heavy base economy where manufacturing carries a location quotient of 1.94 against statewide averages. Reading metro IT pay movements this month run counter to national direction \u2014 systems administrator, network engineer, and IT project manager advertised pay all declined locally while national medians for the same roles held stable or rose, suggesting employer demand here has softened even as national infrastructure-driven hiring accelerates.", "implications": "Divergence between local and national pay trajectories for infrastructure roles \u2014 systems administrators down significantly locally while up moderately nationally, network engineers down significantly locally against national gains \u2014 points to Reading-area employers either under-advertising against a tightening national market or facing softer local demand for these functions. Either reading creates risk: if advertised pay lags national movement while candidate expectations track national data (increasingly likely given remote-work mobility), retention of infrastructure talent becomes harder even without local turnover data showing stress yet. Consider reviewing systems administrator and network engineer advertised pay against national medians specifically before the next hiring cycle or renewal conversation.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Southern Berks Industrial Park's first 2.65 million square feet deliver by late 2026 with a projected 2,750 jobs \u2014 mostly logistics and manufacturing, but likely to include facilities IT and network infrastructure hiring. Watch for new advertised postings tied to the buildout as an early signal of infrastructure role demand returning locally."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Comcast's 634-worker layoff and continuing statewide WARN activity in manufacturing and healthcare may add technical talent to the regional pool over the next 60 days. Track whether network and systems administration candidates with data-center or telecom backgrounds begin appearing in local applicant flow."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "National cybersecurity and cloud infrastructure premiums (AI/ML engineers averaging $170,750, 87% of tech leaders paying skills premiums) have not yet shown up in Reading's advertised data, where cybersecurity analyst pay is flat. A local employer willing to move first on security compensation could gain disproportionate access to scarce talent before the gap closes."}, {"category": "Expected", "body": "Pennsylvania's 66% of tech leaders planning contract or temporary staffing alongside permanent hires signals hybrid build-buy models gaining ground statewide. Expect more Berks-area IT leaders to test contract infrastructure support before committing to permanent systems administrator or network engineer headcount, given the current local pay softness."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 84794.0, "metro_p50": 118253.0, "metro_p75": 128742.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 145881.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Systems Administrator", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 63184.75, "metro_p50": 80506.0, "metro_p75": 95228.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 102503.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Network Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 79171.5, "metro_p50": 97268.0, "metro_p75": 107846.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 115757.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 105865.5, "metro_p50": 130100.0, "metro_p75": 131837.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 154403.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Help Desk/IT Support Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 42000.0, "metro_p50": 47704.0, "metro_p75": 50287.0, "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": 109437.0, "metro_p50": 109437.0, "metro_p75": 128127.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 107327.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "IT Project Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 97400.0, "metro_p50": 105000.0, "metro_p75": 106202.0, "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": "reading-pa-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "reading-pa-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:28:54.127310+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/reading-pa-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/reading-pa-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}