Tech Sector Gains 8,100 Jobs in November

The IT sector employment grew by an estimated 8,100 jobs last month, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics by CompTIA, a trade association based in suburban Chicago.

Meanwhile, IT occupations in other industries grew by an estimated 243,000 jobs in November, the largest monthly job gain since 2015.

“Some of the gains are likely due to offsetting the loss of 77,000 jobs from the previous month,” said Tim Herbert, senior vice president for research and market intelligence at CompTIA. “There is a degree of uncertainty and volatility in the monthly occupation-level data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; the trend line over time is the more important indicator.”

Two employment categories accounted for November’s employment growth within the IT sector. Computer and electronic products manufacturing added an estimated 3,800 jobs, including some 2,200 positions in the sub-category of computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing. Meanwhile, IT services and custom software development also added 3,800 jobs last month. The services and software category has been the primary jobs engine for the tech industry in 2017. For the year this category is up an estimated 115,700 jobs.

Two other categories recorded positive employment growth during the period. Data processing, hosting and related services employment increased by an estimated 2,000 jobs. Other information services, including search portals, added 1,800 positions.

As has been the case throughout the year, job losses in telecommunications countered employment growth in other categories. In November, telecommunications lost an estimated 3,300 positions. In total, more than 55,000 jobs have been lost as the sector continues to migrate away from legacy products and services.

Channel Impact^®
While the report is positive for the overall industry, the statistics for jobs postings were down, suggesting the possibility for some degree of softening as the year comes to a close.