Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Monroe, MI MSA — October 2026
Monroe's tighter jobless rate masks a shrinking labor pool.
Monroe unemployment fell to 4.3% even as payroll employment contracted 3.4% in July, while local Software Engineer pay ($166,020) now outpaces the national median ($154,403).
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Monroe unemployment rate: 4.3% — Down 0.7 pts from August; largest MI metro improvement
- Monroe payroll employment change: -3.4% — July 2026, steepest decline among MI metros
- Michigan unemployment rate: 5.0% — Unchanged in Sept.; 0.8 pts above US rate of 4.2%
- National tech layoffs YTD: 133,417 — Already exceeds full-year 2025 total
Key takeaways
Software engineering pay has pulled ahead of the national rate.
Metro median of $166,020 versus $154,403 nationally marks a significant premium, which may reflect scarcity of senior engineering talent in a market this size. Expect retention pressure if that gap closes without warning.
Infrastructure roles are priced behind the national curve.
Systems Administrator ($90,712 vs. $102,503) and Network Engineer ($103,402 vs. $115,757) both trail national medians by double digits in percentage terms. Monroe's manufacturing base depends on this talent for plant-floor connectivity and OT systems, making underpricing a quiet retention risk.
A shrinking labor force explains the lower jobless rate.
Monroe's unemployment rate fell 0.7 points in a single month while payroll employment dropped 3.4% in July — a sign workers are leaving the labor force instead of filling new roles. IT leaders sourcing locally should expect a smaller, more competitive candidate pool and tighter hiring conditions.
Cybersecurity pay is climbing moderately in both directions.
Metro median of $99,237 is up moderately, tracking the national move to $107,327. Manufacturing-heavy employers facing OT/IT convergence risk should treat this as a signal to benchmark security hires now, ahead of a compliance or incident-driven hiring scramble.
Median advertised pay by role — Monroe, MI MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist * | $109,397 | $141,000 | $163,300 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator * | $74,948 | $90,712 | $103,750 | Moderate increase | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer * | $72,269 | $103,402 | $122,300 | Stable | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $125,573 | $166,020 | $173,806 | Significant increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist * | $41,132 | $50,309 | $55,766 | Stable | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $84,765 | $99,237 | $120,000 | Moderate increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager * | $85,840 | $112,166 | $124,800 | 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
Monroe County's unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in September, the largest year-over-year improvement among Michigan's 18 metro areas, even as payroll employment contracted 3.4% in July amid the region's heavy manufacturing concentration (49.7% of metro employment). That combination — tightening unemployment alongside payroll contraction — points to a shrinking labor force, consistent with Michigan's statewide labor force decline of 26,000 in September.
What it means
Monroe's thin IT labor pool means local employers compete directly against Detroit-metro and remote-enabled national employers for software engineering and cybersecurity talent, and advertised pay data shows that competition landing unevenly: Software Engineer pay locally ($166,020) now runs above the national median, while Systems Administrator and Network Engineer roles trail national figures by roughly $12,000, suggesting infrastructure talent is undervalued relative to where national wage pressure is building. Manufacturing's dominance of the local economy also means IT headcount planning should account for industrial control systems, OT security, and ERP support skill sets tied to plant operations, distinct from generic cloud-native profiles. Consider reviewing whether infrastructure and network roles are priced to retain talent against a national market where network engineer pay is rising moderately.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Monroe's July payroll contraction extends into Q4 data releases. A second consecutive quarter of employment decline alongside falling unemployment would confirm labor force exit is the dominant local story, with the labor market remaining loose rather than tight.
Emerging pressure point: National tech layoffs have already exceeded 133,000 through October, well above all of 2025. Monitor whether displaced talent from Detroit-metro tech employers begins appearing in the Monroe candidate pool, potentially easing infrastructure and support hiring.
Worth watching: Statewide IT employment is projected to grow another 5% against 1% overall job growth, concentrating competitive pressure on data and analytics roles. Monroe employers without a data science bench should expect that scarcity to reach secondary markets within two quarters.
Potential inflection point: National data center and infrastructure hiring is up sharply while tech-hub hiring pulls back, a pattern that favors secondary manufacturing markets like Monroe for on-prem and hybrid infrastructure roles. Track whether any regional data center or industrial automation investment announcements surface locally in coming weeks.
Sources
- Michigan Center for Data and Analytics — Monroe unemployment fell to 4.3% in September, largest MI metro decline
- Michigan Labor Market Review — Monroe payroll employment fell 3.4% in July 2026
- Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget — Manufacturing comprises 49.7% of Monroe metro employment
- Layoffs.fyi — Tech layoffs exceeded 133,417 through Oct. 21, 2026, surpassing 2025
- Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget — Michigan IT employment projected to grow 5% vs 1% overall job growth
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Michigan unemployment at 5.0%, 0.8 pts above national rate
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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