Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · September 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA MSA — September 2026
Mount Vernon's shrinking labor pool masks a widening IT pay split.
Skagit County unemployment fell to 3.8% in July even as the labor force contracted, while local software engineer pay ($165,594) pulled ahead of the national median and help desk pay rose significantly to $62,400.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Skagit County unemployment rate: 3.8% — Down from 4.4% in June 2026
- Washington statewide unemployment: 4.9% — vs 4.1% national rate, August 2026
- Manufacturing share of county jobs: 12% — vs 7.5% statewide average
- King County info-sector layoff share: ~75% — Of 7,453 Q2 2026 layoffs statewide
Key takeaways
Software engineer pay is pulling away from the national median locally.
Metro median advertised pay of $165,594 now exceeds the national figure of $153,652, even as the broader county labor force contracts. This divergence suggests local employers are bidding up a scarce specialized pool rather than following a cooling statewide trend.
Help desk pay is rising faster than almost anything else in the market.
Metro median of $62,400 reflects a significant upward trend against a stable national figure of $53,644, an unusual signal for a commoditized function. Current conditions may suggest local support roles are absorbing cost pressure that would typically flow to outsourced or contract staffing elsewhere.
Network and systems admin pay sits flat while national network engineer pay climbs.
Metro network engineer median of $98,967 trails the national figure of $114,400 by over $15,000, with both local roles reading stable rather than up. This gap is consistent with national signals that traditional infrastructure roles face permanent demand compression, making these functions reasonable candidates for outsourcing review.
A shrinking labor force is tightening the market more than job growth is.
Skagit and Whatcom counties are seeing labor force declines even as unemployment falls, a dynamic distinct from demand-driven tightness. Retention strategy may need to account for fewer available candidates rather than assume hiring difficulty reflects stronger local IT demand.
Median advertised pay by role — Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist * | $123,300 | $158,632 | $173,200 | Moderate increase | $148,250 |
| Systems Administrator * | $81,380 | $100,759 | $110,913 | Stable | $101,168 |
| Network Engineer | $98,592 | $98,967 | $117,500 | Stable | $114,400 |
| Software Engineer * | $125,000 | $165,594 | $183,300 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $51,870 | $62,400 | $62,400 | Significant increase | $53,644 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $90,000 | $109,995 | $126,296 | Moderate increase | $106,790 |
| IT Project Manager * | $92,828 | $119,225 | $131,313 | Moderate increase | $117,530 |
* 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
Skagit County's unemployment rate fell to 3.8% in July 2026 from 4.4% in June, even as the broader labor force contracted across Skagit and Whatcom counties — a tightening driven more by workforce exit than by hiring strength. Manufacturing's outsized 12% share of county employment (versus 7.5% statewide) keeps local labor demand concentrated in a sector largely insulated from the information-sector layoffs reshaping Seattle and King County.
What it means
Mount Vernon-Anacortes IT functions sit in a thin labor market where specialized cloud, security, and software talent is scarce locally and often recruited from or benchmarked against Seattle-metro rates, where software engineer pay already runs above national medians. A shrinking labor force combined with national IT postings growth concentrated in AI and cybersecurity suggests local employers compete less on volume and more on differentiated offers for a handful of critical roles. Consider reviewing whether current IT compensation structures reflect Seattle-adjacent competitive pressure rather than county-level wage data, particularly for software engineering and security positions.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Washington's statutory minimum for exempt computer professionals rose to $59.96/hour in 2026, and non-compete enforceability now requires compensation above $126,858.83 annually. Watch whether these thresholds push local employers to restructure support-tier roles toward contract arrangements.
Emerging pressure point: Nearly three-quarters of Q2 2026 layoffs in King County concentrated in the information sector, even as statewide software/IT postings rose 14.2% year-over-year. Monitor whether displaced Seattle-area tech talent begins appearing in Skagit County applicant pools, which could ease local specialized-role scarcity.
Potential inflection point: Regional job growth projections remain modest at 0.81% through 2029, adding roughly 8,500 jobs across Skagit, Whatcom, San Juan, and Island counties combined. IT leaders planning multi-year headcount growth should weigh whether this pace supports building local technical teams versus leaning further into remote or outsourced capacity.
Early indicator: Manufacturing's continued dominance of county employment, alongside a City of Mount Vernon hiring freeze still affecting technical vacancies as of early 2026, points to public-sector and manufacturing-adjacent IT demand staying muted. Track whether municipal budget pressure eases enough to reopen frozen infrastructure and support roles.
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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