Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Lansing-East Lansing, MI MSA — October 2026
Lansing's shrinking labor force is pricing up IT infrastructure talent.
Lansing's labor force fell 10.2% year-over-year even as Systems Administrator advertised pay rose with significant local momentum against a moderate national gain.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Lansing MSA labor force decline: -10.2% — Year-over-year, Sept. 2026, largest decline in Michigan
- Lansing MSA unemployment rate: 4.6% — Down from 4.9% a year ago; masks labor force exit
- National tech layoffs (YTD): 133,417 workers — Through Oct. 21, 2026, exceeds all of 2025
- Michigan IT employment growth (5-yr): 8% — vs. 1% overall Michigan job growth
Key takeaways
Systems Administrator pay is moving faster locally than nationally.
Metro advertised pay for Systems Administrator climbed with significant momentum this month even as the national figure rose only moderately, a reversal of the usual pattern where Lansing trails national movement. This may reflect the shrinking local labor force colliding with data center and infrastructure buildout demand — a signal to revisit this role's compensation band before the next hiring cycle.
Cybersecurity Analyst compensation gap with national pay is narrowing.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay rose moderately to $98,134 while the national figure also climbed to $107,327, keeping Lansing competitive on trajectory even if it trails on dollars. Organizations recruiting against Detroit or Grand Rapids security teams should track whether this gap closes further before losing candidates to higher-paying metros.
Help Desk pay stagnation supports the outsourcing case.
Metro Help Desk/IT Support pay held flat at $52,370 while national pay for the same role declined moderately — commodity support work shows no local wage pressure to justify in-house headcount expansion. Current conditions suggest evaluating managed services or RPA for Level 2 support, freeing budget for scarcer infrastructure and security hires.
Labor force contraction is reshaping the hiring math.
A 10.2% year-over-year labor force decline in Lansing means fewer candidates exist locally, and competition for them has intensified as a result. IT leaders planning headcount across infrastructure and security functions may need to budget for longer time-to-fill and wider remote-candidate searches instead of assuming current vacancy timelines hold.
Median advertised pay by role — Lansing-East Lansing, MI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $115,923 | $149,313 | $164,186 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $76,906 | $98,047 | $108,013 | Significant increase | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $75,920 | $110,911 | $129,979 | Stable | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $122,050 | $155,143 | $172,905 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $42,543 | $52,370 | $56,973 | Stable | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $83,318 | $98,134 | $118,000 | Moderate increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $84,332 | $112,049 | $125,610 | Stable | $118,150 |
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
Lansing's IT labor market is tightening against a shrinking overall workforce — the metro's labor force fell 10.2% year-over-year in September, the steepest decline among Michigan's 18 regions, even as headline unemployment eased to 4.6%. Michigan State University's 220 open positions and continued data center investment statewide are concentrating demand in a shrinking candidate pool, while statewide IT employment growth of 8% over five years outpaces the 1% overall state job growth rate, intensifying competition for technical talent even as general hiring cools.
What it means
Shrinking labor force participation alongside stable-to-rising advertised pay for Systems Administrator (+significant) and Cybersecurity Analyst (+moderate) roles locally signals that scarcity is driving compensation upward in infrastructure and security functions. With Help Desk/IT Support advertised pay flat at $52,370 and national support wages under pressure, the economics continue to favor shifting commodity support work to managed services while directing retention budget toward scarce infrastructure and security talent. Consider reviewing whether current compensation bands for Systems Administrator and Cybersecurity Analyst roles reflect the metro's tightening labor supply, since last year's market data may no longer apply.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Dakkota Integrated Systems' 67-job cut effective Dec. 31 adds to a thin but rising stream of local WARN activity. Watch whether displaced manufacturing or operations staff with transferable systems or support skills enter the IT support candidate pool.
Worth watching: Michigan State University's 220 open positions remain the metro's largest single concentration of advertised demand. Movement in MSU's IT and research-computing postings is a leading indicator for Lansing's broader technical labor supply and wage pressure.
Emerging pressure point: National tech layoffs have already exceeded 133,000 workers through late October, well above all of 2025. Lansing employers may find an opening to recruit experienced cloud and security talent willing to relocate or go remote, a potential lever against local labor force contraction.
Potential inflection point: AI-related job postings now account for 7.3% of all U.S. postings, surpassing the 2022 peak, while Michigan data scientist roles show the fastest growth of any IT function at 28.3%. Watch whether Lansing employers begin advertising AI/ML-adjacent infrastructure roles at the premium levels seen nationally, which would signal a local compensation reset is underway.
Sources
- Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget — Lansing MSA labor force declined 10.2% year-over-year in September 2026
- FoundRole — Michigan State University has 220 open positions, most in Lansing metro
- Michigan labor market research notes — Michigan IT employment grew 8% over five years vs. 1% overall state job growth
- WILX News 10 — Dakkota Integrated Systems to cut 67 jobs in Lansing effective Dec. 31
- Tech layoff tracking data — 133,417 tech employees laid off at 325 companies through Oct. 21, 2026
- Indeed Hiring Lab — AI-related job postings reached 7.3% of all postings, above 2022 peak of 3.3%
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.
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