CompTIA: Latest Employment Data Reflects Drag on Tech Hiring

Key measurements of technology-related employment declined in November, impacted by a combination of factors that are slowing hiring activity, according to CompTIA, a suburban Chicago-based industry association.

Technology companies reduced staffing by an estimated 6,878 workers inclusive of all types of positions, according to CompTIA’s analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bulk of reductions occurred in the IT and custom software services and systems design category.

Tech occupation employment, which encompasses employers across all industry sectors, declined by an estimated 134,000 workers. The unemployment rate for technology occupations rose slightly in November to 4%. More than 6.6 million workers hold positions in tech occupations.

“On the heels of the government shutdown, the latest tech employment data is in line with expectations,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer, CompTIA. “Employers face a tricky balancing act in needing to expand the skill and capability of their tech workforces while navigating uncertainty on the economic, geopolitical, AI and other fronts.”

Employer job postings for technology positions totaled nearly 436,000 last month, including 174,085 new postings. Both totals were down from the prior month and well off the average monthly volume rate for the year. Year-to-date through November, total job posting volumes are up slightly over the same period in 2024.

The highest volumes of job postings were for positions in software development and engineering, tech support, systems engineering and architecture, cybersecurity engineering and analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) engineering.

Channel Impact^®
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