{"schema_version": 1, "id": "terre-haute-in-msa/information-technology/2026-09", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 503, "label": "Terre Haute, IN MSA", "slug": "terre-haute-in-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-09", "public_after": "2026-09-01", "frozen_at": "2026-10-09T13:18:39.647277+00:00", "headline": "Terre Haute unemployment loosens, but IT pay keeps climbing.", "headline_summary": "Vigo County unemployment rose to 3.8% in August even as metro Software Engineer pay ($140,580) and Help Desk pay ($50,712) both posted significant increases, signaling IT skill scarcity is decoupled from broader local labor slack.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Vigo County unemployment", "value": "3.8%", "context": "vs 3.6% Indiana, up from 3.3% in May"}, {"label": "Indiana unemployment rate", "value": "3.3%", "context": "Third straight month, lowest since May 2023"}, {"label": "Terre Haute MSA avg. wage", "value": "$25.67/hr", "context": "vs $33.54/hr national average"}, {"label": "Indiana tech workforce share", "value": "3.85%", "context": "vs 5.8% national tech workforce share"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Local unemployment is loosening while IT pay keeps climbing.", "body": "Vigo County's 3.8% unemployment rate sits above the state's 3.6%, yet Software Engineer and IT Support advertised pay both rose significantly this month. The gap suggests general labor slack isn't translating into relief for technical hiring \u2014 IT skill scarcity is behaving independently of the broader local labor market."}, {"headline": "Systems Administrator pay still trails the national rate by 30%.", "body": "Metro median of $70,592 against a national $101,168 reflects a persistent on-prem wage discount, but Indiana's IT research notes this gap compresses sharply for cloud-adjacent roles as remote work opens local talent to national bidders. Organizations relying on this discount for infrastructure hires should stress-test it against roles with any cloud exposure."}, {"headline": "Help desk wages are rising faster than the role's national trajectory.", "body": "Metro Help Desk pay moved up significantly to $50,712 while the national figure held stable, a pattern consistent with tightening at the entry-level tier even as overall unemployment eases locally. This may reflect WARN-driven displacement pulling experienced support staff toward better-paying roles rather than backfilling vacated positions."}, {"headline": "Project Manager demand signals coordination work, not technical scarcity.", "body": "IT Project Manager pay rose moderately both locally ($114,590) and nationally ($117,530), tracking roughly in parallel rather than diverging. Consistent with national data showing contract staffing growth outpacing permanent hiring, this may indicate employers are investing in delivery oversight for outsourced or hybrid technical work rather than building deeper in-house technical benches."}], "local_conditions": "Vigo County's unemployment rate held at 3.8% in August, well above Indiana's 3.6% statewide figure and a reversal from the sub-4% tightness seen earlier in 2026, suggesting local labor supply is loosening even as the state holds historically tight. Manufacturing and logistics WARN activity statewide \u2014 including Owens Corning's 130-employee Walkerton notice and sizable filings at Humano LLC and Simos Insourcing \u2014 points to displaced technical workers entering regional candidate pools faster than metro job postings can absorb them.", "implications": "Metro advertised pay for Software Engineer ($140,580) and IT Support Specialist ($50,712) both moved up significantly this month, a divergence that signals local demand is concentrating in build-capable technical talent while commodity support roles face wage pressure despite easing unemployment. Indiana's broader IT labor data confirms cybersecurity remains the hardest role to fill statewide, meaning Terre Haute employers competing for security talent are pricing against a national, remote-enabled market rather than a local one. Consider reviewing whether support and help desk headcount can absorb some of the loosening local labor supply through contract or local hires, while reserving premium compensation and retention investment for cloud, security, and engineering roles exposed to national wage competition.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Vigo County's unemployment rate has risen two consecutive readings (3.3% in May to 3.9% in July to 3.8% in August). Watch whether this stabilizes or continues climbing \u2014 a sustained rise could finally soften local technical wage pressure, particularly in support and admin tiers."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Statewide WARN filings, including Owens Corning's September 19 effective date in Walkerton, may route displaced manufacturing-adjacent technical and support staff into the Terre Haute candidate pool over the next 60 days. Monitor local postings for signs of increased applicant volume in infrastructure and support roles."}, {"category": "Expected", "body": "National Indeed Job Postings Index turned positive year-over-year for the first time in nearly four years, with information-sector postings a notable exception to August's job gains. Expect this national softness in IT-specific postings to filter into metro hiring timelines, particularly for specialized cloud and security searches."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Indiana's cybersecurity hiring difficulty ranks highest of any state role category, and national cybersecurity pay already averages $191.7K with senior roles near $400K. If local employers cannot close this gap, expect increased reliance on managed security service providers rather than direct hires over the next quarter."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 95590.25, "metro_p50": 124876.0, "metro_p75": 147016.0, "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": 60259.5, "metro_p50": 70592.0, "metro_p75": 73559.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 101168.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Network Engineer", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 76252.0, "metro_p50": 110000.0, "metro_p75": 124800.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 114400.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 103063.0, "metro_p50": 140579.8, "metro_p75": 156856.0, "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": 45000.0, "metro_p50": 50712.0, "metro_p75": 59280.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 53644.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Cybersecurity Analyst", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 75903.0, "metro_p50": 91478.0, "metro_p75": 99347.0, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 92584.0, "metro_p50": 114590.0, "metro_p75": 123652.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "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": "terre-haute-in-msa/information-technology/2026-09.html", "pdf": "terre-haute-in-msa/information-technology/2026-09.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-10-09T14:37:01.451343+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/terre-haute-in-msa/information-technology/2026-09.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/terre-haute-in-msa/information-technology/2026-09.pdf"}