{"schema_version": 1, "id": "yuma-az-msa/information-technology/2026-10", "product": "Labor Market Pulse", "metro": {"geography_id": 491, "label": "Yuma, AZ MSA", "slug": "yuma-az-msa"}, "focus_area": {"key": "information_technology", "slug": "information-technology", "label": "Information Technology"}, "period": "2026-10", "public_after": "2026-10-01", "frozen_at": "2026-11-03T03:43:04.077118+00:00", "headline": "Yuma's jobless rate hides a tight market for IT security talent.", "headline_summary": "Yuma unemployment sits near 14.5% while Cybersecurity Analyst pay rose to $135,427 \u2014 above the $107,327 national median \u2014 exposing a split between broad labor slack and scarce technical skills.", "key_indicators": [{"label": "Yuma metro unemployment rate", "value": "14.5%", "context": "vs. 4.1% national, 4.9% Arizona"}, {"label": "Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay", "value": "$135,427", "context": "vs. $107,327 national median, up significantly"}, {"label": "Software Engineer advertised pay", "value": "$95,592", "context": "vs. $154,403 national median, down significantly"}, {"label": "Yuma nonfarm payroll change (YoY)", "value": "-1,200 jobs", "context": "Manufacturing down 14.3% YoY to 2,400 workers"}], "takeaways": [{"headline": "Yuma's jobless rate masks a tight IT skills market.", "body": "Metro unemployment near 14.5% reflects agricultural and manufacturing softness alongside a tight IT labor market. Cybersecurity Analyst and Systems Administrator pay both posted significant increases locally, indicating employers are still competing hard for technical talent despite broader slack."}, {"headline": "Software engineering pay gap with national rates is widening.", "body": "Metro Software Engineer pay fell to $95,592 against a stable national median of $154,403 \u2014 a nearly $59,000 spread. This gap may suggest local roles are scoped differently (support/maintenance versus build) or that Yuma employers face limits competing for senior engineering talent, reinforcing a case for remote or outsourced development capacity."}, {"headline": "Security hiring looks structural, tracking statewide demand.", "body": "Arizona information security analyst roles grew nearly 28% this year, and Yuma's Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay of $135,427 now exceeds the national median of $107,327. Compliance-driven security headcount appears to be a durable statewide trend reaching even smaller metros like Yuma."}, {"headline": "Systems Administrator pay surge signals infrastructure staffing strain.", "body": "Metro Systems Administrator pay rose significantly to $73,528, still well below the national median of $102,503 but closing the gap fast. Rising pay against a backdrop of 14.5% metro unemployment suggests infrastructure roles are being bid up locally even as general labor supply loosens."}], "local_conditions": "Yuma's unemployment rate climbed to 14.5% in September \u2014 more than three times the national rate of 4.1% \u2014 after peaking near 18.9% in August, driven by agricultural seasonality and continued manufacturing contraction (down 14.3% year-over-year to 2,400 workers). Nonfarm payrolls fell 1,200 over the year even as Arizona's tech sector projects 1.9% statewide employment growth, leaving Yuma's IT labor pool disconnected from the state's infrastructure and security hiring momentum.", "implications": "Deep labor slack in Yuma's broader economy coexists with scarce IT talent \u2014 advertised pay for Cybersecurity Analyst ($135,427, up significantly) and Systems Administrator ($73,528, up significantly) locally signals that technical and security skills remain scarce even as headline unemployment sits near 14.5%. Software Engineer pay fell sharply to $95,592 against a national median of $154,403, suggesting local employers are either downleveling roles or struggling to compete for senior talent, which bears directly on build-vs-buy decisions for development work. Organizations should evaluate whether local hiring difficulty for engineering roles justifies shifting development to remote or outsourced capacity while keeping security and infrastructure roles \u2014 where local pay is rising fastest \u2014 anchored on-site or in-region.", "looking_ahead": [{"category": "Worth watching", "body": "Yuma's unemployment rate has risen five of eight months tracked in 2026; watch whether seasonal agricultural recovery narrows the rate back toward spring levels and whether that eases competition for adjacent support and help desk roles."}, {"category": "Emerging pressure point", "body": "Statewide WARN layoffs affected Manufacturing, Transportation, and Information & Technology disproportionately. Monitor whether any Yuma-area technology or manufacturing layoffs release infrastructure or support talent into the local candidate pool."}, {"category": "Potential inflection point", "body": "Phoenix's data center buildout (4,154 MW planned, commissioning technicians scarce) may pull infrastructure talent out of secondary Arizona markets like Yuma. Watch for upward pressure on Network Engineer and Systems Administrator pay if candidates begin commuting or relocating toward Phoenix projects."}, {"category": "Early indicator", "body": "National tech layoffs have already exceeded 133,000 workers for 2026. Track whether any of that displaced talent, particularly security or infrastructure specialists open to remote work, becomes visible in Yuma applicant pools given 41% of technologists say they would trade salary for flexibility."}], "roles": [{"role": "Data Scientist", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 108132.0, "metro_p50": 134958.0, "metro_p75": 153654.0, "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": 62188.0, "metro_p50": 73528.0, "metro_p75": 83185.5, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "significant", "national_p50": 102503.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Network Engineer", "data_scope": "state_rollup", "metro_p25": 82347.0, "metro_p50": 111296.8, "metro_p75": 126883.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 115757.0, "national_trend_direction": "up", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Software Engineer", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 91124.0, "metro_p50": 95592.0, "metro_p75": 104609.0, "metro_trend_direction": "down", "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": 42159.0, "metro_p50": 51500.0, "metro_p75": 57200.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "metro_trend_magnitude": "moderate", "national_p50": 53129.0, "national_trend_direction": "down", "national_trend_magnitude": "moderate"}, {"role": "Cybersecurity Analyst", "data_scope": "metro", "metro_p25": 89632.0, "metro_p50": 135427.0, "metro_p75": 147874.0, "metro_trend_direction": "up", "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": 84676.0, "metro_p50": 111745.8, "metro_p75": 123750.0, "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": "Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity", "source_url": null, "statement": "Yuma unemployment rate reached 14.5% in September 2026"}, {"source_name": "Arizona's Economy / EBRC", "source_url": null, "statement": "Yuma manufacturing employment fell 14.3% year-over-year to 2,400 workers"}, {"source_name": "Bureau of Labor Statistics", "source_url": null, "statement": "National unemployment rate stable at 4.1% in October 2026"}, {"source_name": "Lightcast / Arizona labor market research", "source_url": null, "statement": "Arizona information security analyst roles grew nearly 28%"}, {"source_name": "Arizona IT labor market research notes", "source_url": null, "statement": "Phoenix data center construction totals 4,154 MW planned with scarce commissioning technicians"}, {"source_name": "Layoffs.fyi / tech layoff tracker", "source_url": null, "statement": "133,417 tech employees laid off at 325 companies through October 21, 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": "yuma-az-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "pdf": "yuma-az-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}, "published_at": "2026-11-03T08:32:51.903121+00:00", "report_html_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/yuma-az-msa/information-technology/2026-10.html", "report_pdf_url": "https://reports.wagescape.com/archive/v1/editions/yuma-az-msa/information-technology/2026-10.pdf"}