Service Leadership Inc. Reports Early Signals of Cooling Wage Inflation
Annual Compensation Survey points to easing labor cost pressure for IT solution providers in most geographies in 2026
TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Service Leadership Inc.®, a ConnectWise company, today announced the early findings from its highly anticipated 13th Annual IT Solution Provider Compensation (Remuneration) Report™ to be released in early March 2026. The report, which focuses on over 60 positions common to IT solution providers, provides an unparalleled wealth of high-level information on IT solution provider-specific compensation to help leaders better understand and utilize industry best practices when making compensation decisions for their businesses.
Early findings from this year’s report show that 2026 should continue the trend of lower wage inflation, good news indeed for IT solution providers. Wage inflation peaked in 2022, decreased in 2023 and stayed relatively stagnant in 2024. 2025 was a year of continuous decline in wage inflation, reflective of a cooling labor market as solution providers focused on prioritizing investments in automation tools to drive future efficiencies in their organizations. The continued decrease in wage inflation in 2026 suggests a return to historical norms.
Solution providers worldwide participated in this year’s survey for the report and provided valuable insight on target annual earnings (TAE), projected raises, bonuses, and more for various positions, from management and sales and marketing to technical roles such as service desk, field technicians, and security, project, network/systems engineers, and for the first time, automation engineers. This data offers insight into market pay rates for each role and measures the impact that inflation has had on said rates.
“Our findings from the compensation survey show the trend of lower wage inflation over the past few years continuing into 2026, in most regions worldwide,” says Peter Kujawa, EVP & GM, Service Leadership & IT Nation. “In 2025, there was improvement and the 2026 projections show the most wage inflation improvement since 2023, giving IT solution providers an opportunity for further improvements in gross margin and ultimately, profitability.”
Additional key findings on wage inflation and TAE worldwide include:
- Best-in-class IT solution providers (the top 25% most profitable) are planning on roughly 4x fewer employees (6.1%) receiving top-level increases (over 6.0%) than the bottom quartile solution providers, who are planning top-level increases to approximately 24.2% of employees.
- Value-added resellers (VARs) are anticipating even lower increases than managed service providers (MSPs). Best-in-class VARs are planning on nearly 38% of employees receiving increases of 3.0% or less.
- Wage inflation is proving to be more stubborn in Europe as the only region not planning on more than a 50% decrease in employees receiving top-level increases versus 2025.
- The US and ANZ (Australia/New Zealand) lead the way with the largest planned increases in the 3.1% to 6.0% tier, with 55.8% and 47.8% employees, respectively. This increase is driven by fewer top-level increases projected.
- Canada stands out with the lowest planned increases of any region, with only 6% of employees receiving increases of 6.0% or more and 51% receiving 3.0% or less.
- Private Equity-backed solution providers are planning on only 0.9% of employees receiving top-level increases in 2026, compared to 9.9% of privately owned.
The Service Leadership Index® Annual IT Solution Provider Compensation (Remuneration) Report is widely recognized as the leading source for IT solution provider-specific compensation data and compensation strategies of top-performing solution providers. The final report will be available for purchase at a price of US$1,999 in early 2026, and as a token of appreciation, those who took part in the survey will be the first to receive a complimentary copy upon its release.
To stay informed about the report's release and be notified when it becomes available, please click here.
About Service Leadership, Inc.
Service Leadership, Inc.®, a ConnectWise company, is dedicated to providing total profit solutions for IT solution providers, directly and through industry consultants and global technology vendors. The company publishes the leading vendor-neutral, IT solution provider financial and operational benchmark: Service Leadership Index®. This includes private diagnostic benchmarks for individual IT solution providers and their business coaches and consultants. The company also publishes SLIQ™, the exclusive web application for partner owners and executives to drive financial improvements by confidentially assessing and driving their Operational Maturity Level™. For more information, visit www.service-leadership.com.
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About ConnectWise
ConnectWise powers IT businesses by simplifying operations, enhancing experiences, and driving growth. Trusted by IT solution providers worldwide, ConnectWise sets the standard for innovation and service delivery. For more than 40 years, ConnectWise has been committed to partner success, delivering software, services, and an open ecosystem of integrations. The ConnectWise Platform provides unmatched scale and AI-driven automation across PSA, RMM, cybersecurity, and data protection—helping IT Solution Providers to deliver and secure services more efficiently. Discover how ConnectWise is transforming the IT industry at connectwise.com.
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Media Contact
Kaileigh Higgins
Inkhouse for ConnectWise
connectwise@inkhouse.com
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