Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Pittsfield, MA MSA — October 2026
Pittsfield IT pay climbs as local job base contracts.
Systems Administrator pay jumped to a metro median of $104,419 even as Pittsfield MSA employment fell 2.2% in September, the second-steepest drop among Massachusetts metros.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Pittsfield employment change: -2.2% — September 2026, second-largest MA metro decline
- Berkshire County unemployment: 4.1% — vs 4.3% statewide, 4.1% national
- Systems Administrator advertised pay: $104,419 — Up significantly vs $102,503 national median
- MA information-sector job losses: -10,000 jobs — 10% sector decline year-over-year statewide
Key takeaways
Systems Administrator pay is climbing faster than the job market can explain.
Metro advertised pay for Systems Administrators rose significantly to $104,419, outpacing the national median's moderate gain, even as the broader Pittsfield labor market contracted in September. A small local talent pool for infrastructure roles may be forcing employers to bid up pay faster than hiring volume justifies.
Help Desk pay gains locally diverge sharply from the national pattern.
Pittsfield's Help Desk/IT Support median rose significantly to $60,043 while the national figure declined moderately to $53,129. Local employers may be unable to access the lower-cost regional or offshore support options available to larger metros, keeping commodity support costs elevated.
Software Engineer pay gap with the national market is narrowing, but from a cost advantage.
Metro Software Engineer pay rose significantly to $127,369 against a stable national median of $154,403, still a meaningful discount. That gap remains a case for hybrid or remote engineering placements anchored in Berkshire County, positioned as an alternative to competing directly in Boston or national tech-hub markets.
September's employment drop raises questions about local IT bench depth.
A 2.2% employment decline in one month, against a backdrop of a healthy countywide unemployment rate, points to churn concentrated in specific sectors, distinct from broad-based softening. IT leaders should watch whether released talent from healthcare or manufacturing layoffs surfaces as adjacent-skill candidates for infrastructure or support roles.
Median advertised pay by role — Pittsfield, MA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist * | $115,980 | $150,195 | $167,500 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $83,200 | $104,419 | $111,284 | Significant increase | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer * | $83,140 | $120,000 | $135,675 | Stable | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $95,384 | $127,369 | $149,352 | Significant increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $51,023 | $60,043 | $74,926 | Significant increase | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst * | $90,025 | $110,425 | $126,296 | Moderate increase | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager * | $83,193 | $116,656 | $133,525 | 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
Pittsfield MSA employment fell 2.2% in September 2026, the second-largest monthly decline among Massachusetts metros, even as Berkshire County's unemployment rate held at 4.1%, below the state's 4.3%. A small, thinly staffed tech employer base in a region dominated by healthcare, manufacturing and tourism means any single hiring freeze or departure shows up disproportionately in local IT headcount and candidate availability.
What it means
Thin local IT labor supply combined with September's employment contraction suggests Pittsfield employers face longer requisition times for specialized infrastructure and security roles than larger Massachusetts metros, even as statewide information-sector employment has shed 10,000 jobs year-over-year on automation and outsourcing decisions. Significant local advertised pay gains for Systems Administrators and Help Desk/IT Support Specialists point to employers competing hard for roles that are typically easiest to centralize or outsource, which may suggest a tight local bench alongside a strategic bet on in-house commodity support. Consider reviewing whether rising pay for support and sysadmin functions reflects skill scarcity in Berkshire County or an opportunity to shift routine infrastructure work to regional or remote providers.
Looking ahead
Expected data release: Massachusetts releases October 2026 unemployment and employment data for Pittsfield on November 20. Watch whether the September employment drop reverses or signals a longer contraction in local tech-adjacent hiring capacity.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide information-sector job losses of 10,000 positions year-over-year suggest Massachusetts employers are favoring automation and outsourcing over backfill. Pittsfield employers with thin internal IT benches may feel this pressure first given limited local specialist supply.
Worth watching: Community Healthlink and Blueprint Medicines layoffs elsewhere in Massachusetts, combined with Berkshire County's projected 500 new clean energy jobs, could redirect displaced technical talent toward Pittsfield employers willing to retrain for infrastructure or support roles.
Potential inflection point: National data center and AI infrastructure hiring growth of 20% in three months, measured by job ads, a signal of hiring demand (one ad often covers several openings), has not yet shown up in Pittsfield's advertised pay data beyond Systems Administrator gains. Monitor whether regional employers begin competing for hybrid infrastructure talent as a lower-cost alternative to tech-hub hiring.
Sources
- Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development — Pittsfield MSA employment fell 2.2% in September 2026
- Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development — Berkshire County unemployment at 4.1% in August 2026
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — Massachusetts information-sector employment down 10,000 jobs year-over-year
- MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board — Berkshire County projected to add 500 clean energy jobs
- Indeed Hiring Lab — Data center job postings grew 20% in three months nationally
- Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development — October 2026 Pittsfield unemployment data release date of November 20
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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