CompTIA: Employer Hiring Activity for Tech Jobs at Highest Point in Nearly Two Years

Employment in the U.S. technology sector grew in May and employers’ search for new tech talent reached a level not seen in nearly two years, via an analysis done by CompTIA, a suburban Chicago-based industry association.

According to the association, working with data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, technology companies added 10,500 jobs in May: a combination of technical and non-technical positions. Tech sector employment has now increased for six consecutive months and has grown by more than 61,000 so far this year.

Meanwhile, employer job postings for open IT positions surpassed 365,000 in May, the highest monthly total since September 2019. Software and application developers, IT support specialists, systems engineers and architects, IT project managers and systems analysts are among the positions in highest demand.

At the occupation level across all industry sectors, the latest employment report also shows a loss of 78,000 IT positions. The unemployment rate for IT occupations was 2.4% in May, about half the national labor market rate of 5.5%.

“The strong employer hiring activity for technology positions coupled with a loss of jobs at the occupation level suggests a disconnect,” Tim Herbert, executive vice president for research and market intelligence at CompTIA. “However, it is not uncommon for factors such as hiring timing or an increase in workers seeking new employment opportunities to affect labor market data in the short-term.”

May’s impressive IT job positing numbers were dispersed across metro areas around the country. Large markets such as Washington, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, San Jose and Seattle accounted for about 36% of all IT job postings for the month.

Channel Impact^®
Though somewhat conflicted, the data suggest a substantial hiring spree may be poised to begin.