{"schema_version": 1, "id": "tyler-tx-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 337, "label": "Tyler, TX MSA", "slug": "tyler-tx-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:36:38.463188+00:00", "headline": "Tyler security pay falls as national rates climb.", "headline_summary": "Tyler Cybersecurity Analyst pay dropped to $75,012 against a national $107,327, while local unemployment eased to 4.0% and the labor force shrank by 1,000.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Tyler MSA unemployment rate", "value": "4.0%", "context": "Down from 4.2% in August 2026"}, {"label": "Cybersecurity Analyst pay gap", "value": "$75,012 vs $107,327", "context": "Metro down significantly vs national up moderate"}, {"label": "Texas net new tech jobs (2026 est.)", "value": "32,238", "context": "CompTIA projection, outpacing available supply"}, {"label": "Tyler civilian labor force change", "value": "-1,000", "context": "Month-over-month, Sept 2026; annual change +900"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Security and sysadmin pay is falling locally while rising nationally.", "body": "Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay sits at $75,012 versus a national $107,327, a gap that has widened this month as the metro figure moved down significantly. That divergence is consistent with outsourcing or offshoring absorbing demand that would otherwise push local pay higher."}, {"headline": "Software and network roles are holding their ground.", "body": "Software Engineer ($129,858, up) and Network Engineer ($119,853, stable) pay in Tyler is tracking near or above national figures, while support and security roles are moving differently. Current conditions suggest employers are still defending compensation on roles closest to core systems and revenue infrastructure even as they pull back elsewhere."}, {"headline": "Help Desk pay decline may reflect automation alongside shifting demand.", "body": "Help Desk/IT Support advertised pay fell significantly to $43,495, well below the national $53,129 and moving in the same direction as the national figure. Texas firms are reportedly growing output without adding headcount amid constrained labor supply, consistent with tier-1 support work being automated or consolidated into fewer roles."}, {"headline": "Tight statewide supply is reshaping where headcount gets added.", "body": "CompTIA's projection of 32,238 net new Texas tech jobs against a labor pool that isn't growing to match implies continued pressure to fill commodity infrastructure and support roles through contractors or MSPs ahead of direct hires. Tyler's flat labor force growth (0.7% annually) makes this pressure more acute than in faster-growing Texas metros."}], "local_conditions": "Tyler MSA unemployment eased to 4.0% in September from 4.2% in August, yet the civilian labor force contracted by 1,000 even as the metro held 900 more jobs than a year earlier \u2014 a market stabilizing in rate terms but flat in absolute hiring momentum. Statewide, CompTIA projects 32,238 net new tech jobs for Texas this year against a labor supply that isn't keeping pace, and that imbalance is visible locally in diverging advertised pay: metro Cybersecurity Analyst and Systems Administrator pay fell significantly even as national rates for those same roles climbed.", "implications": "Falling local advertised pay for Cybersecurity Analyst ($75,012, down significantly) and Systems Administrator ($75,000, down) against rising national rates ($107,327 and $102,503 respectively) signals Tyler employers are either under-pricing scarce security and infrastructure skill or quietly shifting that work to MSPs and remote/offshore staff \u2014 a build-vs-buy decision playing out in the data itself. Software Engineer and Network Engineer pay held firm or rose locally, suggesting employers are still competing hard for roles tied directly to revenue systems while treating support and security functions as more outsourceable. Consider reviewing which infrastructure and security functions are being backfilled locally versus routed to managed providers, and whether current pay positioning on those roles reflects a strategic choice or a drift driven by thin local supply.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Local Cybersecurity Analyst and Systems Administrator pay are falling while national figures rise \u2014 watch whether this gap widens further or whether local employers begin repricing to retain scarce security talent against remote competition."}, {"category": "Policy to monitor", "body": "Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act, in effect since January 2026, applies to any AI tool used to screen, rank, or monitor employees. IT leaders managing HR tech stacks or AI-driven monitoring tools should track enforcement activity and compliance guidance over the next two months."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Texas Enterprise Fund reform proposals would lower job-creation thresholds for tech and AI firms to 40 jobs or $5M in payroll, potentially pulling more state-backed investment into smaller Tyler-area employers. Watch whether this changes local retention incentives for infrastructure and security staff."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "Tyler's labor force fell by 1,000 in September even as the unemployment rate improved, a combination that can precede tighter hiring conditions if it persists. A second consecutive month of labor force contraction would strengthen the case for leaning on contractors ahead of direct hires for hard-to-fill infrastructure roles."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 111342.0, "metro_p50": 128261.0, "metro_p75": 129102.0, "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": 58199.0, "metro_p50": 75000.0, "metro_p75": 77950.25, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 102503.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Network Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 69500.0, "metro_p50": 119853.0, "metro_p75": 128769.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 115757.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 91211.0, "metro_p50": 129858.0, "metro_p75": 131929.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "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": 34694.0, "metro_p50": 43495.2, "metro_p75": 52205.0, "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": "metro", "metro_p25": 69083.0, "metro_p50": 75012.0, "metro_p75": 76280.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "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": 89852.25, "metro_p50": 115729.0, "metro_p75": 127084.75, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 118149.8, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}], "industry_snapshot": [], "citations": [{"source_name": "Texas Workforce Commission", "source_url": null, "statement": "Tyler MSA unemployment rate and labor force figures for September 2026"}, {"source_name": "CompTIA", "source_url": null, "statement": "CompTIA projection of 32,238 net new Texas tech jobs in 2026"}, {"source_name": "Texas Legislature", "source_url": null, "statement": "Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act effective January 1, 2026"}, {"source_name": "Texas Enterprise Fund", "source_url": null, "statement": "Texas Enterprise Fund reform proposal lowering job thresholds to 40 jobs/$5M payroll"}, {"source_name": "Texas Workforce Commission", "source_url": null, "statement": "Tyler MSA civilian labor force change, September 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": "tyler-tx-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "tyler-tx-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:31:38.180003+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/tyler-tx-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/tyler-tx-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}