Business · Companies · 6 hrs ago
US Cybersecurity Job Postings Fall 26% to Four-Year Low
US cybersecurity job postings fell 26.4% in January–September 2026 compared with the same months in 2025, reaching a four-year low.
The figures cover listings on JobSpikr, which CyberSN analyzed by the skills and work requested, rather than just the job titles employers used.
Leadership roles saw some of the steepest drops, including CISO postings, which fell 38.9% from a year earlier.
Researchers said the decline could reflect weaker employer demand or a return from an unusually strong 2025, so the figures do not explain why listings fell.
AI security engineer postings rose 268.3%, even as overall cybersecurity hiring listings declined.
About 14.6% of postings mentioned AI or machine learning, close to the 15.1% share in 2025.
The data suggests a mixed job market, but it does not say what employers will post next.
US cybersecurity job postings fell 26.4% year over year to 235,786 between January and September 2026, the lowest level in four years of CyberSN analysis.
Most tracked cybersecurity functions had fewer postings than in the same period of 2025, with leadership roles among those seeing large declines.
AI Security Engineer postings rose 268.3% year over year, even as overall postings fell.
CyberSN said the figures do not establish whether the decline reflects weaker employer demand or a return from an unusually strong 2025.
- Who
- CyberSN analyzed US cybersecurity job postings using data from JobSpikr.
- What
- Postings fell 26.4% year over year to 235,786, a four-year low. AI Security Engineer postings rose 268.3%.
- When
- January to September 2026, compared with the same period in 2025.
- Where
- The United States.
- Why
- Not stated. CyberSN said it is unclear whether the decline reflects lower employer demand or a return from an unusually strong 2025.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
CyberSN recorded 320,210 US cybersecurity job postings between January and September.
CyberSN counted 235,786 postings, down 26.4% from the same period in 2025.
CyberSN published its report on the US cybersecurity job market.
- Total postings
- 235,786 from January to September 2026
- Year-over-year change
- Down 26.4% from the same period in 2025
- AI Security Engineer postings
- Up 268.3% year over year
- CISO postings
- 2,832 from January to September 2026, down 38.9% year over year
- Research roles
- The only one of 10 tracked functions with more postings, up 26.1%
2 sources
What people are saying
That is consistent with demand having settled at a lower level rather than continuing to fall
Job titles are noisy
This report reads every posting through the CyberSN Taxonomy, so demand is counted by the work being asked for, not by the title on the listing.