US Cyber Job Ads Hit a Four Year Low, but AI Security Roles Surge

US cybersecurity job postings fell by 26.4% year-over-year between January and September 2026, according to analysis by CyberSN. A total of 235,786 roles were advertised, the lowest figure in the four years the firm has run its analysis. The comparison years were 273,498 in 2023, 244,911 in 2024 and 320,210 in 2025.

Leadership roles saw the sharpest falls. CISO postings dropped 38.9%, from 4632 to 2832. Cybersecurity lead postings fell 41%, director postings fell 32.5% and manager postings fell 24.4%. Nine of the 10 cybersecurity functions tracked had fewer postings than in 2025. The exception was research roles, which grew by 26.1%. AI security engineer roles jumped 268.3%, and cyber data scientist postings rose to 667 in September from 247 in August.

The researchers said it is unclear whether the decline reflects weaker employer demand or a return from an unusually strong 2025. Postings across the three quarters of 2026 stayed within 1.5% of one another, which they said is consistent with demand having settled at a lower level rather than continuing to fall. Small businesses with 200 or fewer employees accounted for 39.9% of 2025 postings. This is US data, and the source does not cover the Australian market.