CompTIA: US Adds Tech Jobs in the Midst of Pandemic

Technology-related employment increased in 44 states in 2021, according to a new report from CompTIA, an IT trade association based in suburban Chicago.

According to CompTIA’s “State of the Tech Workforce” report, employment increased by approximately 80,000 workers in 2021, a positive gain over the flat performance in 2020. Job growth was slower than expected as the nation navigated through year two of a pandemic, but the tech industry avoided the severe job losses that affected many other sectors.

Nearly 8.7 million people work in core tech-related occupations across the country, with tens of millions more employed as digital knowledge workers, according to the report. The tech industry accounts for 9.3% of direct value in the U.S. economy – more than $1.8 trillion.

CompTIA estimates a 2% increase – nearly 178,000 new jobs – in 2022, with 48 states projected to add tech workers. Data scientists and analysts (4.3%), cybersecurity professionals (4%), software developers (3.9%), and computer and information research scientists (3.5%) lead the list of occupations expected to see strong growth in 2022.

“The data speaks to the ever-evolving tech workforce and its far-reaching impact across the national, state and metro area economies,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA. “As always the results are impressive but also a reminder of the collective effort of workers, employers, educators and industry and government organizations to build and sustain a healthy, dynamic tech workforce.”

Texas (+10,851 new jobs) and Florida (+10,522) outpaced all other states in tech job gains in 2021, followed by California (+5,165), North Carolina (+5,004) and Washington (+4,469).

At the metro level, employers in the Dallas-Fort-Worth-Arlington region added more technology workers (5,321) than any other market in the country. That total was more than double that of the next closest market, Seattle, where 2,651 tech jobs were added. Denver, Miami, Austin and Salt Lake City also recorded impressive growth.

The number of tech business establishments across the country increased by 5.3% in 2021, the equivalent of 25,500 businesses.

Channel Impact^®
The data offer a positive outlook for the tech industry at large, underscoring solid business fundamentals driving that growth.