US cybersecurity job postings dropped 26.4% year-over-year to a four-year low of 235,786 between January and September 2026, with roles like Penetration Tester, Cyber Risk Analyst, and CISO seeing steep declines. However, AI-focused roles bucked the trend significantly, with AI Security Engineer demand surging 268.3% and Cyber Data Scientist demand growing 203.5%. Nearly 15% of all cybersecurity job postings now reference AI skills, with momentum increasing through the period and peaking at 20% in September 2026.
