CompTIA State of the Tech Workforce Report Forecasts 300,000 New Positions

U.S. technology employment gains may return to growth this year, according to a report by CompTIA, a suburban Chicago-based industry association. 

CompTIA’s “State of the Tech Workforce 2024” forecasts net tech employment spanning the aggregate tech sector and tech occupation workforces reaching 9.9 million workers this year, an increase of more than 300,000 net new workers. This represents a projected year-over-year gain of 3.1%, reversing the modest increase of 1.2% during 2023.

The report says the economic impact of tech will also continue to expand, building on a base of an estimated $2 trillion in annual direct economic impact and more than 650,000 technology companies contributing to the U.S. economy. Tech sectors in 30 states generate $10 billion or more in direct economic impact, according to the report.

“After periods of overperformance and underperformance, the overarching tech story remains positive,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer, CompTIA. “Ensuring a thriving, globally competitive workforce means further committing to developing the country’s base of tech and digital talent through time-tested and alternative pathways.”

Positions in the data science and data analyst category, cybersecurity category, software development category, UI/UX category and emerging tech category including artificial intelligence will grow at the fastest rates on a percentage basis, according to the report. On a volume basis, core infrastructure positions in networking and cloud engineering, along with tech support positions, will continue to serve as the on ramp for many starting a career in technology.

In a separate announcement, CompTIA released its analysis of last month’s report from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employers accelerated their hiring of technology workers and expanded their search for new tech talent in March, according to CompTIA’s analysis, which says technology companies added an estimated 6,000 workers in March. Job growth was led by new hiring in technology services, software development, cloud infrastructure and related positions. Technology occupations throughout the economy increased by 203,000 for the month, thereby pushing the unemployment rate for tech occupations back down to 3%. 

Channel Impact^®
The research provides some encouraging news in the industry which has had a trend towards layoffs across multiple quarters.