Industry adds 7,500 net new jobs, but tech occupation unemployment ticks up
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – Technology industry job growth in June was offset by slowdowns in other key employment metrics, analysis by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce.
The tech industry added an estimated 7,540 net new workers in June, the biggest monthly increase in 2024, CompTIA’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) #JobsReport data reveals.
Technology services and software development occupations continue to lead new hiring, a positive sign for the small and medium-size segment of the sector. The total base of US tech industry employment stands at approximately 5.6 million workers.
That positive result was countered by the loss of 22,000 tech occupations throughout the economy. The tech unemployment rate experienced an unexpected jump to 3.7%, moving directionally with the national unemployment rate increase for the month.
“Despite pockets of growth, the recent data indicates a degree of downward pressure on tech employment,“ said Tim Herbert, chief research officer, CompTIA. “A combination of factors, including AI FOMO, likely contributes to segments of employers taking a wait and see approach with tech hiring.”
New employer job postings for tech positions totaled nearly 200,000 in June, down slightly month-over-month. In total there were more than 444,600 active tech job postings for the month and 2.5 million for the year.
Among major metropolitan markets, San Francisco and Denver recorded healthy gains in the number of job postings from May to June. Open positions in San Francisco totaled 6,110, an increase of 1,077 from May. In Denver, tech job postings increased by 424 to 3,684. Most other metro markets saw modest declines. California, Texas and Virginia had the highest volumes of June tech job postings among the states.
The report shows that 46% of all active tech job postings in June did not specify that candidates have a four-year degree. The percentage was higher for several key tech positions, including network support specialists (90%), IT support specialists (73%), network and systems administrators (54%), network architects (50%) and database administrators (50%).
