Tech industry employment gains now extends to 21 consecutive months
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., September 2, 2022 – New employment data shows that employers continue to grow their technology teams, reaffirming tech’s essential role in powering business and industry, according to CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce.
Tech sector companies added 25,500 net new workers in August, with growth in five major occupation categories, CompTIA’s analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) “Employment Situation” report reveals. Tech industry employment has increased by 175,700 jobs in 2022 and is tracking 46% ahead of last year and 92% ahead of 2019.
Companies throughout the economy added an estimated 21,000 tech workers for the month. [1] The unemployment rate for tech occupations edged up to 2.3% paralleling the directional change of the national unemployment rate (3.7%).
“Stability in tech hiring continues to be an over-arching theme this year,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA. “Despite all the economic noise and pockets of layoffs, aggregate tech hiring remains consistently positive.”
Employer job postings for tech positions eased back in August, coming in at just under 320,000. Companies are seeking a range of tech skills, including software development and engineering, IT support, IT project management, systems engineering and network engineering.
Among industries, the largest numbers of job postings occurred in professional, scientific and technical services, finance and insurance, manufacturing, information and retail trade. Employment opportunities in tech are available across the country, in markets large, medium and small. The New York City, Washington, Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles metro areas had the most job postings for tech positions, while Allentown (PA), Raleigh (NC) and Columbus (OH) recorded the largest month-over-month increases in tech job postings.
CompTIA’s analysis also shows that options for remote work and work from home continue to increase for technology workers. From January through August 2022, tech job postings where employers specify remote work is up 56% over last year and 281% from the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Within the tech sector, new hiring in the IT services and custom software development occupation category, which expanded by 14,400 workers, paced August’s job gains. Solid growth also occurred in computer and electronic products manufacturing (+4,500), data processing, hosting and related services (+3,200) and other information services, including search engines (+3,000). Telecommunications jobs increased by a modest 400.
The “CompTIA Tech Jobs Report” is available at https://www.comptia.org/content/tech-jobs-report. For more analysis and perspective visit the CompTIA Tech Job Report video series at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuqIJd7KnBU_nZd2oXEwa0I5X7Vt124eM.
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About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the estimated 75 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world’s economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for unlocking the potential of the tech industry and its workforce. https://www.comptia.org/
Media Contac
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
sostrowski@comptia.org
+1 630-678-8468
[1] Monthly occupation level data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tends to experience higher levels of variance and volatility. Labor market data from the BLS and employer job posting data from Lightcast may be subject to backward revisions.
Steve Ostrowski
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
(630) 678 - 8468
sostrowski@comptia.org
Roger Hughlett
Director, Corporate Communications
(202) 503 - 3644
rhughlett@comptia.org
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Access Now$2 trillion – Estimated direct economic impact of the U.S. tech industry, representing 8.8% of the national economy.
582,000 – Number of tech business establishments in the U.S.
9.1 million – U.S. net tech employment at the end of 2022.
286,400 – Estimated number of new technology jobs added in the U.S. in 2022.
4.1 million – Number of postings by U.S. employers for tech job openings during 2022.