CompTIA: Turmoil Weighs on Tech Jobs Market

Tech hiring activity in April felt the weight of ongoing economic uncertainties and mixed market signals, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data by CompTIA, an industry association based in suburban Chicago.

Tech sector companies reduced staffing by a net 7,000 positions in April, according to the report, as hiring gains in the tech services sector were not enough to offset job losses in tech manufacturing, telecommunications and cloud infrastructure.

Across the economy, tech occupation employment declined by an estimated 214,000 positions. The unemployment rate for tech occupations experienced a corresponding increase, rising to 3.5% from the previously reported rate of 3.1%.

Job postings for technology positions declined modestly in April, though employers added nearly 203,000 new listings. In total, there were almost 450,000 active tech job postings last month. Software developers and engineers, systems engineers and architects, tech support specialists, cybersecurity engineers and analysts and network engineers and architects were in high demand.

Employer hiring for artificial intelligence (AI) positions or those that require AI-related skills continue to increase. New job postings for April stand at 55,726, an increase of 184% over the same month a year ago, according to CompTIA.

“It was not a great month of data, but expected given the circumstances,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer, CompTIA. “Employer tech job postings continue to hold up, so a possible sign that hiring will resume as companies find their bearings.”

Employers continue to pursue skills-based hiring strategies. About one-half of all April tech job postings did not specify a need for a four-year academic degree.

On a geographic basis, California led all states with 26,280 tech jobs postings in April, an increase of 1,037 from March. Texas, Virginia and New York followed with the most postings among states, while Arizona, West Virginia and Maryland had the biggest month over month increases on a percentage basis.

Nine metropolitan areas each had more than 5,000 tech job postings in April, with New York City (12,526), Washington, D.C. (11,945) and Dallas (9,789) at the top of the list. Metro markets with double digit increases in job postings from March to April included San Francisco (+14%), Phoenix (+11%) and Trenton (+16%).

Channel Impact^®
The data reflect the uncertainty inherent not only in the technology industry, but in the economy overall.