Labor Market Pulse · Information Technology · September 2026
Information Technology Labor Market Report: Sumter, SC MSA — September 2026
Sumter cybersecurity pay outpaces national rate as payrolls shrink.
Sumter MSA nonfarm payrolls fell 1.6% year-over-year even as advertised cybersecurity pay hit $114,049 — above the $106,790 national median — signaling acute local scarcity in specialized IT roles.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Sumter unemployment rate: 5.4% — June 2026, up from 4.7% in April
- Sumter nonfarm payrolls: 37,400 jobs — Down 1.6% year-over-year
- Cybersecurity analyst pay, metro vs national: $114,049 vs $106,790 — Metro exceeds national median, both rising significantly
- SC statewide unemployment: 4.1% — August 2026, down 0.1 pt monthly
Key takeaways
Cybersecurity pay in Sumter now outruns the national rate.
Advertised cybersecurity analyst pay sits at $114,049 locally against $106,790 nationally, both trending up significantly. A smaller metro outbidding national medians signals acute scarcity, not routine wage drift — budget accordingly before a counteroffer forces the issue.
Network engineering is quietly becoming a retention flashpoint.
Metro network engineer pay jumped significantly to $107,479, outpacing the national $114,400 figure's more moderate rise. Combined with a contracting nonfarm base, this suggests employers are competing harder for a shrinking pool of qualified infrastructure talent locally.
Payroll contraction masks a tighter technical labor market.
Total nonfarm employment fell 1.6% year-over-year even as unemployment rose to 5.4%, an unusual pairing that may suggest sector-specific churn rather than broad slack. IT roles appear insulated from — or even benefiting from — this dynamic given strong advertised pay gains in systems administration and cybersecurity.
Data scientist demand looks soft against a strong national signal.
Metro data scientist pay fell to a moderate decline at $105,418 while national pay climbed to $148,250, a growing gap unusual for a role CompTIA ranks 420% above average national growth. This may reflect limited local demand concentration rather than true market softening — worth validating before assuming parity with national trends.
Median advertised pay by role — Sumter, SC MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Scientist | $100,704 | $105,418 | $113,755 | Moderate decline | $148,250 |
| Systems Administrator | $84,825 | $95,613 | $102,806 | Significant increase | $101,168 |
| Network Engineer | $87,781 | $107,479 | $109,995 | Significant increase | $114,400 |
| Software Engineer * | $117,000 | $153,047 | $169,420 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Help Desk/IT Support Specialist * | $39,842 | $49,988 | $54,755 | Stable | $53,644 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | $99,191 | $114,049 | $120,968 | Significant increase | $106,790 |
| IT Project Manager | $110,759 | $115,690 | $115,690 | Moderate decline | $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
Sumter MSA unemployment climbed to 5.4% in June 2026 even as nonfarm payrolls contracted 1.6% year-over-year to 37,400 jobs, a divergence that points to labor force churn rather than broad-based hiring strength. Statewide momentum in Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (2.4% growth in 2026) and the pull of Charleston's tech corridor are drawing specialized talent away from smaller metros like Sumter, tightening the local pool for cloud, security, and infrastructure roles even as headline employment softens.
What it means
Sumter's shrinking payroll base combined with rising regional competition for technical talent means IT leaders can no longer assume local supply will keep pace with specialized hiring needs — particularly in cybersecurity and network engineering, where advertised pay here is rising faster than national medians. Build-vs-buy calculus shifts toward outsourcing commodity support and administrative functions while reserving scarce internal headcount capacity for roles tied to infrastructure resilience and security posture. Consider reviewing whether current compensation bands for cybersecurity and network engineering roles reflect Sumter's outsized local wage movement rather than stale national benchmarks.
Looking ahead
Expected: BLS household data for September Sumter unemployment releases in early October; watch whether the 5.4% June reading holds or reflects seasonal noise given April's 4.7% low.
Emerging pressure point: DP World's September 1 WARN notice (205 workers, Spartanburg) and continued manufacturing/logistics volatility statewide could push displaced technical and operations talent toward IT-adjacent roles in neighboring metros, including Sumter.
Worth watching: Charleston's expanding tech hub continues absorbing regional cybersecurity and software talent; monitor whether Sumter employers need to widen remote/hybrid offers to compete for candidates who would otherwise commute or relocate toward Charleston.
Potential inflection point: Statewide Professional, Scientific & Technical Services growth (2.4% in 2026) may begin translating into Sumter-based contract and outsourcing demand as local employers prioritize specialized hires over generalist support headcount.
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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