{"schema_version": 1, "id": "warner-robins-ga-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 518, "label": "Warner Robins, GA MSA", "slug": "warner-robins-ga-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:39:01.027092+00:00", "headline": "Government contracts, infrastructure pay expands in Warner Robins.", "headline_summary": "Metro government employment fell 6.6% year-over-year even as Network Engineer pay climbed to $125,456 \u2014 nearly $10,000 above the national median of $115,757.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Metro unemployment rate", "value": "3.2%", "context": "vs 4.1% national, 3.3% Georgia"}, {"label": "Metro nonfarm employment change", "value": "-2.5% YoY", "context": "Government payrolls down 6.6% YoY"}, {"label": "Government share of metro employment", "value": "33.2%", "context": "vs 10.3% national share"}, {"label": "National tech layoffs, YTD through Oct 21", "value": "133,417", "context": "Already exceeds full-year 2025 total"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Network Engineer pay has decoupled from the national pattern.", "body": "Metro median pay of $125,456 now sits nearly $10,000 above the national figure of $115,757, with significant upward movement locally against only moderate national gains. This is consistent with defense-adjacent infrastructure demand around Robins AFB outpacing broader market conditions \u2014 a role worth re-benchmarking on its own curve, independent of national survey assumptions."}, {"headline": "Help Desk compensation is sliding while the labor market stays tight.", "body": "Metro Help Desk pay dropped to $46,797, a significant decline, even as metro unemployment sits near historic lows at 3.2%. Falling pay in a tight labor market may signal employers are substituting junior support roles with automation or consolidating tiers instead of competing for scarce candidates \u2014 a dynamic worth testing against actual fill times before cutting budgeted pay further."}, {"headline": "Government contraction is a wildcard for infrastructure headcount planning.", "body": "Metro government employment fell 6.6% year-over-year in a market where government represents a third of all jobs, far above the 10.3% national share. IT leaders building infrastructure or security teams should watch whether this contraction releases experienced network and systems talent with defense-sector clearances \u2014 a supply source largely unavailable in metros without a comparable federal footprint."}, {"headline": "Cybersecurity pay is lagging the national premium building elsewhere.", "body": "Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay sits flat at $91,650, well below the $107,327 national median and its moderate upward trend. With 133,417 tech layoffs nationally through October potentially loosening senior security talent in larger markets, this gap may create a near-term opportunity to recruit experienced analysts into Warner Robins at below-national cost before local pay catches up."}], "local_conditions": "Warner Robins metro unemployment held at a tight 3.2% in August against a 4.1% national rate, yet total nonfarm employment contracted 2.5% year-over-year as government payrolls fell 6.6% \u2014 a contraction concentrated in a metro where government comprises 33.2% of employment versus 10.3% nationally. Robins Air Force Base and its logistics complex continue to anchor roughly 22,000 jobs, meaning federal fiscal decisions and defense contracting cycles carry outsized weight on local IT labor supply compared to commercial-sector-driven metros.", "implications": "Local Network Engineer pay climbed to $125,456 \u2014 above the $115,757 national median \u2014 a signal that infrastructure talent tied to defense and logistics systems commands a premium scarce elsewhere, while Help Desk pay fell sharply to $46,797, suggesting employers are deprioritizing entry-tier support investment even as government contraction could release adjacent talent into the pool. Government payroll contraction alongside tight overall unemployment creates a narrow window where experienced infrastructure and network talent exits federal-adjacent roles but does not stay unemployed long enough to ease competitive pressure. Organizations should evaluate whether current Network Engineer compensation reflects actual scarcity or outdated benchmarks set before this year's localized premium emerged.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Government employment contraction of 6.6% year-over-year is unusual for a metro this dependent on federal payrolls; watch whether Robins AFB logistics complex staffing or contracting levels shift in coming WARN filings or federal budget signals."}, {"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Help Desk pay has fallen sharply while metro unemployment holds under 3.2% \u2014 a gap worth tracking to see whether it reflects automation substitution or a temporary oversupply of entry-tier candidates."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "National data center and infrastructure hiring is up 20% in three months while tech-hub metros pull back; Warner Robins' lower-cost, defense-adjacent infrastructure base could position it to capture overflow demand if that trend extends into secondary markets."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Georgia's information-sector employment grew from 49.8K to 53.0K year-over-year statewide, intensifying competition for IT talent; watch whether Atlanta-based remote postings begin drawing Warner Robins candidates away from in-metro roles."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 114306.0, "metro_p50": 140663.4, "metro_p75": 159523.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 145881.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Systems Administrator", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 75758.0, "metro_p50": 100858.0, "metro_p75": 103429.0, "metro_trend_direction": "stable", "metro_trend_magnitude": "stable", "national_p50": 102503.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Network Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 108966.0, "metro_p50": 125456.0, "metro_p75": 146896.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 115757.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 94372.5, "metro_p50": 122275.0, "metro_p75": 135520.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 154403.0, "national_trend_direction": "stable", "national_trend_magnitude": "stable"}, {"role": "Help Desk/IT Support Specialist", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 46797.0, "metro_p50": 46797.0, "metro_p75": 47554.25, "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": 80000.0, "metro_p50": 91649.6, "metro_p75": 93999.5, "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": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 80352.0, "metro_p50": 114441.0, "metro_p75": 128947.0, "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": "Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics)", "source_url": null, "statement": "Warner Robins metro unemployment at 3.2% in August 2026"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Metro nonfarm employment contracted 2.5% year-over-year, government down 6.6%"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "Government comprises 33.2% of metro employment vs 10.3% nationally"}, {"source_name": "Tech layoff tracking aggregator", "source_url": null, "statement": "133,417 tech employees laid off nationally through October 21, 2026"}, {"source_name": "Georgia Department of Labor", "source_url": null, "statement": "Georgia information-sector employment grew from 49.8K to 53.0K year-over-year"}, {"source_name": "Indeed Hiring Lab", "source_url": null, "statement": "Data center job postings grew 20% in three months nationally"}], "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": "warner-robins-ga-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "warner-robins-ga-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:32:05.892617+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/warner-robins-ga-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/warner-robins-ga-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}