Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Fond du Lac, WI MSA — October 2026
Fond du Lac tightens to 2.6% jobless as tech pay splits sharply.
Metro unemployment fell to 2.6% in September even as Software Engineer pay jumped to $121,582 and Help Desk pay slid to $49,977, exposing a widening split between specialist and entry-level IT compensation.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 2.6% — Down from 3.2% in August; well below 4.2% US rate
- Software Engineer advertised pay: $121,582 — Up significantly; national median $154,403 stable
- Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay: $98,772 — Up significantly; closing gap with $107,327 national
- US tech layoffs, YTD through Oct 21: 133,417 — Already exceeds all of 2025 — Layoffs.fyi
Key takeaways
Cybersecurity pay is accelerating faster than the metro overall.
Advertised Cybersecurity Analyst pay rose significantly to $98,772, closing much of the gap with the $107,327 national median. Flat metro wage growth elsewhere makes this an outlier that signals employers are actively bidding for scarce security talent to fill openings ahead of attrition.
Software Engineer compensation is moving against the national trend.
Metro Software Engineer pay climbed significantly to $121,582 while the national median held stable at $154,403, narrowing a historically wide gap. Localized scarcity appears to be driving this — a signal that build-in-house strategies here now carry a steeper cost premium than peer markets suggest.
A 2.6% jobless rate limits the local bench for infrastructure hires.
Metro unemployment fell sharply from 3.2% to 2.6% in a single month, tightening an already thin labor pool in a metro that has lost jobs on average monthly through 2026. Systems Administrator and Network Engineer roles, both showing stable local pay against rising national medians, may require wider geographic searches or managed-services arrangements to fill.
Help Desk pay softness may be masking a deeper restructuring.
Help Desk/IT Support pay fell moderately to $49,977 locally and $53,129 nationally, consistent with national data showing information-sector hiring pulled back to 1.6% of employment. Declining entry-level IT pay alongside rising specialist pay suggests organizations are consolidating support functions while concentrating spend on security and engineering talent.
Median advertised pay by role — Fond du Lac, WI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist * | $92,149 | $124,857 | $142,413 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator * | $74,294 | $85,280 | $94,210 | Stable | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer * | $75,000 | $97,810 | $115,000 | Stable | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $94,734 | $121,582 | $135,461 | Significant increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist * | $42,611 | $49,977 | $54,827 | Moderate decline | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $76,826 | $98,772 | $110,363 | Significant increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager * | $94,660 | $119,691 | $130,333 | Stable | $118,150 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Local market conditions
Fond du Lac's unemployment rate dropped from 3.2% to 2.6% between August and September, pulling the metro well below both the state's 3.2% and national 4.2% rates even as the broader area recorded a fifth-consecutive year ranking among Wisconsin's weakest for job growth. Tight local labor supply against an essentially flat employment base means IT leaders are competing for a shrinking pool of technical talent in a market already structurally undersized for cloud-native and security specializations.
What it means
Metro-level advertised pay for Software Engineer roles rose significantly this month while Cybersecurity Analyst pay also climbed sharply, suggesting employers are bidding up scarce specialized skills even as broader metro wage growth stays flat — a divergence that complicates flat-budget headcount planning. With 98% of Wisconsin technology postings requiring in-person work, measured by job ads, which track demand and often cover several openings each, infrastructure and support roles face a structurally disadvantaged position against remote-friendly national employers competing for the same cybersecurity and engineering talent. Consider reviewing whether security and engineering compensation bands reflect this local acceleration before budget cycles lock in rates that lag the advertised market.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether the September jump to 2.6% unemployment holds or reverses once seasonally adjusted October data arrives in mid-November. A reversal would ease some of the hiring pressure now pushing up security and engineering pay.
Emerging pressure point: National tech layoffs have already exceeded 133,000 workers for 2026, concentrated in large tech hubs and secondary manufacturing-heavy markets like Fond du Lac have seen comparatively little impact. Monitor whether displaced cloud or AI talent begins surfacing in regional applicant pools, potentially easing local scarcity in specialized roles.
Worth watching: Wisconsin manufacturing employment is tracking roughly 1.3% below year-ago levels with payroll growth forecast to dip further, a signal relevant to IT leaders supporting manufacturing clients or internal plant systems. Continued softness could slow demand for on-prem infrastructure hires even as cybersecurity demand holds firm.
Potential inflection point: Remote-work scarcity, with 98% of Wisconsin technology postings requiring in-person work, keeps this metro at a structural disadvantage against national employers offering hybrid arrangements. Watch whether advertised pay premiums for in-person security and engineering roles widen further as a retention offset.
Sources
- Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development — Fond du Lac metro unemployment fell from 3.2% to 2.6% August-September 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — National unemployment rate at 4.2% (September 2026)
- Layoffs.fyi — 133,417 tech layoffs through October 21, 2026 exceed full-year 2025
- Wisconsin IT Labor Market Research — 98% of Wisconsin technology job postings require in-person work
- Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development — Wisconsin manufacturing employment tracking 1.3% below year-ago levels
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. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
Free to read and cite with attribution to WageScape. Terms of use.