US cybersecurity job postings drop to four year low

United States cybersecurity job postings dropped by 26 percent year over year between January and September 2026, reaching a four year low. InfoSecurity Magazine, DataBreaches.net, and SecurityWeek all reported on the data released by cybersecurity talent firm CyberSN. [1][2][3][4]

InfoSecurity Magazine reported that chief information security officer postings dropped from 4,632 in the first nine months of 2025 to 2,832 in the same period in 2026, representing a 38.9 percent reduction. Other leadership positions also recorded substantial drops, including cybersecurity lead roles falling by 41 percent, cybersecurity director positions dropping by 32.5 percent, and cybersecurity manager roles declining by 24.4 percent. [1]

According to SecurityWeek, demand for artificial intelligence security engineers went against the downward trend and rose by 268 percent during the same period. CyberSN tracked nine out of ten cybersecurity functional categories that experienced fewer total postings in 2026 than in 2025, InfoSecurity Magazine reported. [1][3]

DataBreaches.net and SecurityWeek both reported that CyberSN compiled its job market data from aggregator JobSpikr, after removing duplicate entries. CyberSN then mapped the job titles into a proprietary taxonomy covering 45 functional cybersecurity roles across ten broader categories to evaluate market demand by specific skill sets. [2][3]