Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · October 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Raleigh-Cary, NC MSA — October 2026
Raleigh IT labor market tightens overall, splits by function.
Raleigh-Cary unemployment held at 3.1% with 2.2% job growth, even as Cary studio layoffs at Epic Games and Red Storm totaled 316 workers and IT Project Manager pay fell to $111,441.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Raleigh-Cary unemployment rate: 3.1% — 9th-lowest of 108 large U.S. metros, Aug. 2026
- Metro nonfarm job growth: 2.2% YoY — 787,200 jobs, outpacing Charlotte and Atlanta
- Cary gaming-sector WARN layoffs: 316 workers — Epic Games (211) and Red Storm (105) combined
- IT Project Manager advertised pay: $111,441 — Down significantly; national median $118,150 stable
Key takeaways
Metro-level tightness masks a split IT labor market.
A 3.1% unemployment rate and 2.2% job growth describe an economy with strong aggregate demand, but Epic Games and Red Storm layoffs show gaming and entertainment software is contracting even as infrastructure and security roles stay scarce. Workforce planning should treat these as separate talent pools, since a single unemployment figure does not represent all IT hiring.
IT Project Manager pay decline stands out against a tight labor market.
Metro advertised pay for IT Project Manager fell significantly to $111,441, a divergence from the broader tightening labor market and from national trend (stable at $118,150). Current conditions suggest employers may be re-scoping the role toward hybrid technical-delivery functions, a shift worth confirming before setting new offer ranges.
Local Network Engineer pay lags national by nearly $18,000.
Metro median of $98,101 against a national median of $115,757 — one of the widest local-to-national gaps across tracked IT roles — appears to reflect Raleigh's lower cost structure, given tight unemployment and data center buildout nationally. Organizations competing for infrastructure talent against remote-eligible national employers may find this gap poses a retention vulnerability instead of a savings opportunity.
Released studio talent could ease pressure on adjacent support roles.
WARN filings from Epic Games, Red Storm, and Ubisoft collectively affect over 400 workers with software, QA, and support skill sets entering the Cary-area market. Help Desk/IT Support pay has stayed flat locally at $52,424 — a market absorbing this talent without needing to bid pay upward signals increased candidate supply at that level.
Median advertised pay by role — Raleigh-Cary, NC MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $115,438 | $139,560 | $149,542 | Stable | $145,881 |
| Systems Administrator | $83,203 | $97,440 | $106,916 | Stable | $102,503 |
| Network Engineer | $56,355 | $98,101 | $112,797 | Stable | $115,757 |
| Software Engineer | $120,987 | $151,465 | $168,295 | Moderate increase | $154,403 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist | $40,952 | $52,424 | $60,000 | Stable | $53,129 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $86,895 | $109,522 | $131,423 | Stable | $107,327 |
| IT Project Manager | $95,256 | $111,441 | $130,260 | Significant decline | $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
Raleigh-Cary's unemployment rate held at 3.1% in August, the ninth-lowest among the nation's 108 largest metros, while nonfarm employment climbed 2.2% year-over-year to 787,200 jobs — a pace that outperformed Atlanta, Nashville, D.C., and Charlotte. Indeed's Hiring Lab index for the metro rose to 108.3 in early October, above the national reading of 103.8, even as Cary-based studios Epic Games and Red Storm Entertainment filed WARN notices covering a combined 316 workers, signaling that gaming and entertainment software carry distinct risk from the broader IT labor market.
What it means
Tightness at the metro level coexists with sector-specific contraction — information-sector employment is negative statewide for 2025, and national tech layoffs have already topped 133,000 for the year, meaning IT leaders are managing scarcity and surplus simultaneously depending on function. Infrastructure, security, and data-center-adjacent roles face continued wage pressure from national demand (job ads, a signal of hiring demand, up 20% in three months, with one ad often covering several openings), while studio-adjacent and routine support roles may see softer competition as WARN-driven talent enters the local pool. Consider reviewing headcount plans by function and by department separately, treating gaming/entertainment software talent released locally as a distinct sourcing opportunity from infrastructure and security hiring.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Epic Games and Red Storm's combined 316 WARN-affected workers register in Raleigh-Cary's October job postings data (job ads, a signal of hiring demand, where one ad often covers several openings) or unemployment claims. A measurable uptick would confirm a usable talent pool for infrastructure, QA, or support hiring at lower cost than market-wide advertised rates suggest.
Emerging pressure point: National AI/ML engineer premiums ($170,750 average, a $25,000 floor over standard software engineering roles) have not yet shown up as a distinct line in Raleigh-Cary advertised pay data. Expect this gap to surface locally as data center and AI-adjacent infrastructure investment continues nationally.
Worth watching: IT Project Manager pay's significant local decline to $111,441 is worth tracking against new postings volume. If advertised rates keep falling while demand holds, it may indicate employers restructuring the role instead of reducing need.
Potential inflection point: Raleigh's information sector has shed jobs statewide even as metro-wide employment grows, a split that could widen if national tech layoffs (133,000-plus year-to-date) extend into Q4. Monitor whether Wake County added jobs in September/October data released in coming weeks hold up against this national headwind.
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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