Labor Market Pulse

Spokane, WA Metro Edition

Focus: IT

Spokane IT pay splits: infrastructure rises, security and data fall.

3.4%

Spokane County unemployment

Down from 3.8% in June 2026

$88,974 metro vs $106,790 national

Cybersecurity pay divergence

Metro down significantly, national up moderately

$93,025

Systems admin pay growth

Up significantly locally vs $101,168 national

-2,500 jobs

Spokane payroll change

264,000 total, despite falling unemployment

This Month's Takeaways

01

Cybersecurity pay is falling locally while rising nationally.

Metro cybersecurity analyst advertised pay dropped significantly to $88,974 against a national median of $106,790 that continues to climb. This gap may suggest Spokane employers are underpricing a role where national demand (and remote competition) is intensifying, risking turnover to out-of-market offers.

02

Infrastructure roles are quietly outperforming analytics roles.

Systems administrator pay rose significantly to $93,025 and network engineer pay rose moderately to $110,652, even as data scientist and cybersecurity pay declined. Current conditions suggest Spokane employers are prioritizing hands-on infrastructure reliability over analytics capacity, a signal worth testing against actual project backlogs before headcount planning assumes otherwise.

03

A shrinking labor force complicates every hiring timeline.

Spokane's labor force continues to contract as retirements accelerate, even as unemployment ticks down to 3.4%. Tighter local supply for support and infrastructure functions may extend time-to-fill regardless of posted pay, strengthening the case for contract or outsourced staffing on commodity IT work.

04

IT project manager pay softening may reflect project pipeline caution.

Metro IT project manager pay fell moderately to $112,649 while national pay rose. This divergence is consistent with employers slowing discretionary technology initiatives locally even as national firms continue to compete aggressively for project leadership talent.

Local Labor Conditions

Spokane County's unemployment rate eased to 3.4% in July 2026 from 3.8% in June, even as payrolls shed 2,500 jobs to 264,000 — a divergence consistent with a shrinking labor force rather than genuine hiring strength, as retirements continue to pull workers out of the labor pool. Healthcare now accounts for nearly one in five local jobs, while information-sector and technical employment remain comparatively thin, leaving IT hiring more exposed to statewide swings in tech postings than to local demand alone.

Leadership & Talent Implications

Metro IT pay signals are bifurcating sharply from national trends — data scientist, cybersecurity analyst, and IT project manager advertised pay are all down locally while national medians rise, suggesting Spokane employers are either repricing roles downward or losing competitive postings to remote-friendly national openings. Systems administrator and network engineer pay climbing locally points to sustained demand for on-site infrastructure and support talent that can't be offshored or automated as easily as data and security functions, reinforcing a build case for core operations staff even as specialized analytics work becomes easier to buy externally. Consider reviewing whether cybersecurity and data roles are being lost to remote national competition before assuming local demand has weakened.

Advertised Pay Indicators

Role	P25	Median	P75	Local Trend	National	Nat. Trend
Data Scientist	$84,309	$105,513	$109,422	↓ Significant decline	$148,250	↑ Moderate increase
Systems Administrator	$72,006	$93,025	$103,566	↑ Significant increase	$101,168	↑ Moderate increase
Network Engineer	$63,190	$110,652	$119,475	↑ Moderate increase	$114,400	↑ Moderate increase
Software Engineer	$105,305	$139,569	$152,136	↑ Moderate increase	$153,652	→ Stable
Help Desk/IT Support Specialist	$42,567	$57,200	$63,131	→ Stable	$53,644	→ Stable
Cybersecurity Analyst	$75,000	$88,974	$120,683	↓ Significant decline	$106,790	↑ Moderate increase
IT Project Manager	$87,409	$112,649	$115,686	↓ Moderate decline	$117,530	↑ Moderate increase

Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days

Worth watching

Washington software and IT postings are up 14.2% year-over-year even as broader state postings decline, but nearly three-quarters of recent King County layoffs hit the information sector. Watch whether displaced Seattle-area tech talent begins appearing in Spokane applicant pools over the next two months.

Emerging pressure point

Local data scientist and cybersecurity pay are falling against rising national benchmarks, a gap that could widen attrition risk for Spokane employers competing with remote-first national employers. Track whether open requisitions in these roles see rising time-to-fill or declining applicant quality.

Expected

Washington's non-compete enforceability threshold rose to $126,858.83 and the computer professional overtime exemption floor sits at $59.96/hour for 2026. Expect continued upward pressure on entry-level technical compensation structures as these statutory floors compress the gap between junior and mid-level IT pay.

Potential inflection point

Spokane's civilian labor force continues contracting as retirements accelerate toward an expected 4% annual exit rate by 2029. Organizations relying on local infrastructure and support staffing should monitor whether this trajectory forces earlier reliance on contract or remote-hire strategies.

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