Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · September 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA — September 2026
Burbank IT market splits: security pay climbs as support flattens.
Cybersecurity Analyst pay in the metro is rising significantly to $113,878 while Help Desk pay holds flat at $59,280, reflecting a labor market where specialized technical talent is scarce even as county unemployment sits near 4.8%.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- LA County unemployment rate: 4.8%-4.9% — vs 5.1% statewide, 4.1% national
- Information sector employment: -2,500 jobs YoY — Statewide, sector now 15% below Sept 2022 level
- LA total compensation cost growth: 3.3% YoY — Below 3.6%-4.2% range in peer western metros
- LA County payroll job growth: +37,900 (0.8%) YoY — Nearly all gains in healthcare/social assistance
Key takeaways
Cybersecurity pay is outrunning the rest of the local IT market.
Metro Cybersecurity Analyst pay ($113,878) is rising significantly, outpacing the moderate national trend and most other local IT roles tracked this month. That divergence is consistent with California's broader bifurcation between AI/security specialists and generic technical roles — expect retention risk concentrated specifically here, not across IT broadly.
Network Engineer pay is up moderately, but the role's demand story is a shrinking function.
Metro Network Engineer median ($127,000) sits well above the national figure ($114,400) even as statewide information-sector employment keeps contracting. Rising local pay for a structurally declining role category may reflect scarcity among remaining experienced engineers rather than growing demand — worth distinguishing before approving new permanent requisitions.
Help desk and support pay has gone flat while everything else moves.
Help Desk/IT Support Specialist pay is stable at both the metro ($59,280) and national level, in a month where cybersecurity, network engineering, and project management all posted upward movement. Flat advertised pay alongside continued information-sector job losses is consistent with support functions becoming the default target for outsourcing and build-vs-buy conversations.
Systems Administrator demand looks quietly resilient compared to national trend.
Metro Systems Administrator pay is stable ($104,108) but sits above the national median ($101,168), even as the figure nationally is trending up moderately. Local stability at a premium level may suggest Burbank-area employers have already priced in scarcity, making this a role worth benchmarking before assuming it is commoditized.
Median advertised pay by role — Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $117,500 | $145,600 | $164,187 | Moderate increase | $148,250 |
| Systems Administrator | $80,792 | $104,108 | $115,489 | Stable | $101,168 |
| Network Engineer | $84,378 | $127,000 | $137,891 | Moderate increase | $114,400 |
| Software Engineer | $120,011 | $159,186 | $178,619 | Stable | $153,652 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $47,730 | $59,280 | $67,500 | Stable | $53,644 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $90,553 | $113,878 | $129,525 | Significant increase | $106,790 |
| IT Project Manager | $90,729 | $125,124 | $140,000 | Moderate increase | $117,530 |
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
Los Angeles-area IT hiring this month is unfolding against a split labor market: countywide payroll employment grew 0.8% year-over-year, but nearly all gains concentrated in healthcare and social assistance, while information-sector employment kept contracting and professional/technical services shed 3,400 jobs in July-August alone. That contraction is tightening the pool of experienced infrastructure and security talent even as overall county unemployment holds near 4.8%-4.9%, producing a labor market that looks loose in aggregate but stays tight for specialized technical skill sets.
What it means
Shrinking information-sector headcount combined with a 165% wage premium for tech roles over the state median means IT leaders are competing for a smaller pool of senior cloud, DevOps, and security talent while commodity support functions face real downward pressure on demand and pay. Cybersecurity Analyst advertised pay rising at a significant clip locally (metro median $113,878, trending up sharply versus moderate national growth) signals that security has become the sharpest point of local wage competition, not just a national one. Consider reviewing whether current infrastructure and support staffing should shift toward contract or outsourced models while reserving permanent headcount growth for cybersecurity and cloud architecture roles where local market data shows clear acceleration.
Looking ahead
Emerging pressure point: Information-sector job losses have persisted for months statewide and professional/technical services contracted again in July-August. Watch whether released technical talent — particularly mid-career infrastructure and support staff — begins showing up in Burbank-area candidate pools in meaningful volume over the next 60 days.
Worth watching: California's unemployment rate (5.1%) remains the highest of any state and a full point above the national rate, yet LA County sits meaningfully lower at 4.8%-4.9%. A widening gap between county and state conditions could affect how aggressively local employers need to compete on pay versus relying on broader state-level labor slack.
Potential inflection point: Total compensation costs in LA rose 3.3% over the year ending June, trailing the 3.6%-4.2% range seen in peer western metros. If that gap persists, retention risk for in-demand cloud and security talent may intensify as competitor metros outbid locally advertised rates.
Early indicator: National WARN filings continue to name large employers including Amazon, Meta, and Verizon, with California layoffs tracked at 288 notices affecting over 13,600 workers in the past 90 days. Monitor whether any of these filings touch Burbank-adjacent media, entertainment-tech, or aerospace-adjacent IT functions specifically.
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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