{"schema_version": 1, "id": "springfield-oh-msa/information-technology/2026-09", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 496, "label": "Springfield, OH MSA", "slug": "springfield-oh-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-09", "public_after": "2026-09-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T13:18:30.270955+00:00", "headline": "Springfield IT pay splits: engineers up, infrastructure down.", "headline_summary": "Software Engineer advertised pay in Springfield hit $162,481, above the national median, while Systems Administrator pay fell to $82,660 even as national rates climbed and 1,341 manufacturing jobs disappear by October 2.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Springfield Software Engineer pay", "value": "$162,481", "context": "vs. $153,652 national median"}, {"label": "Springfield Systems Administrator pay", "value": "$82,660", "context": "down locally vs. up to $101,168 nationally"}, {"label": "International Motors layoff", "value": "1,341 jobs", "context": "Largest Ohio layoff in 5 years, effective Oct. 2"}, {"label": "Clark County unemployment", "value": "3.8%", "context": "Below national 4.1%, above Ohio's 3.3%"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Infrastructure pay is falling locally while rising nationally.", "body": "Systems Administrator and Network Engineer advertised pay dropped moderately-to-significantly in Springfield even as national rates rose. This divergence is consistent with employers either outsourcing these functions or facing a thinner pool of infrastructure-specific postings following manufacturing-sector contraction."}, {"headline": "Software Engineer pay surge signals a strategic reallocation, not just a market quirk.", "body": "Springfield's Software Engineer median of $162,481 now exceeds the national figure, a significant local increase against a stable national trend. Current conditions suggest employers are concentrating compensation dollars on build-capability roles rather than spreading investment across traditional IT operations."}, {"headline": "The International Motors closure will test the local IT talent pool's depth.", "body": "Roshel's acquisition eliminates 1,341 positions by October 2 and does not guarantee workforce transfer, but manufacturing layoffs rarely release IT-specific talent directly. Watch whether displaced plant-adjacent technical staff \u2014 PLC, OT, or industrial systems specialists \u2014 enter competition for infrastructure and support roles."}, {"headline": "IT Project Manager pay softening may reflect delayed capital projects.", "body": "A moderate decline in local Project Manager pay, against a rising national rate, is consistent with Springfield employers pausing discretionary technology initiatives amid broader metro employment contraction. Consider whether this signals a near-term freeze on new system implementations rather than reduced demand for the role itself."}], "local_conditions": "Springfield MSA employment fell 0.4% in June 2026, the steepest decline in Ohio, and the pending closure of 1,341 jobs at International Motors' Springfield Assembly Plant by October 2 compounds an already contracting labor base ahead of the Roshel ownership transition. Statewide labor force contraction \u2014 95,000 fewer Ohioans in the workforce year-over-year \u2014 suggests Springfield's tightening candidate pool reflects departures from the labor market rather than genuine employment growth, a dynamic that will shape how competitively IT roles need to be priced to draw talent from a shrinking regional base.", "implications": "Local advertised pay for infrastructure-adjacent roles \u2014 Systems Administrator down to $82,660, Network Engineer down to $86,784 \u2014 is moving against the national grain, where both roles are rising, which may suggest Springfield employers are deprioritizing in-house infrastructure investment just as Software Engineer pay climbs to $162,481, a premium over even the national median. That divergence is consistent with a metro shifting technical headcount toward higher-value engineering and security capacity while treating commodity infrastructure support as a candidate for vendor or contract staffing. Organizations should evaluate whether declining local infrastructure pay reflects reduced demand or simply reduced local supply of qualified candidates before assuming lower-cost hiring is sustainable.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Expected", "body": "International Motors' 1,341 job terminations finalize by October 2 as the Roshel transaction closes; whether Roshel retains any IT, OT, or plant systems staff will clarify how much technical talent actually enters the Springfield candidate pool."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Ohio's labor force has contracted 1.9% even as unemployment falls, the 10th-largest such decline nationally. If this pattern persists in Clark County, Springfield IT employers may face a shrinking applicant pool despite headline unemployment appearing favorable."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Local Systems Administrator and Network Engineer pay is moving opposite the national direction. Track whether this reflects genuine demand softening or a reporting effect from fewer large employers posting infrastructure roles locally."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Columbus's data center boom (54% employment growth 2021-2024) sits roughly an hour from Springfield. Watch whether Springfield-based infrastructure and cloud talent begins commuting or relocating toward that demand center, intensifying local retention pressure."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 113673.25, "metro_p50": 140092.0, "metro_p75": 157602.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 148250.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Systems Administrator", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 74790.75, "metro_p50": 82660.2, "metro_p75": 103086.5, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 101168.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Network Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 78199.75, "metro_p50": 86783.8, "metro_p75": 117736.75, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 114400.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 126726.0, "metro_p50": 162480.6, "metro_p75": 166638.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 153652.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Help Desk/IT Support Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 39000.0, "metro_p50": 46972.0, "metro_p75": 48322.25, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 53644.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Cybersecurity Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 82380.0, "metro_p50": 99737.0, "metro_p75": 116477.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 106790.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "IT Project Manager", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 82554.5, "metro_p50": 103487.0, "metro_p75": 125796.75, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 117530.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}], "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": "October 2026", "files": {"html": "springfield-oh-msa/information-technology/2026-09.html", "pdf": "springfield-oh-msa/information-technology/2026-09.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T14:36:40.636412+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/springfield-oh-msa/information-technology/2026-09.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/springfield-oh-msa/information-technology/2026-09.pdf"}