U.S. tech industry adds 7.5K new workers in June
ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES — The technology industry in the United States experienced a significant boost in job growth in June, adding an estimated 7,540 net new workers. This marks the largest monthly increase in 2024, according to CompTIA’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.
This growth was primarily driven by the technology services and software development sectors, which continue to lead new hiring efforts.
The total U.S. tech industry employment now stands at approximately 5.6 million workers.
Tech unemployment rate rises despite job gains
However, this positive trend was tempered by a loss of 22,000 tech occupations across the broader economy, leading to an unexpected rise in the tech unemployment rate to 3.7%. This increase aligns with the national unemployment rate’s upward movement for the month.
Tim Herbert, CompTIA’s chief research officer, noted, “Despite pockets of growth, the recent data indicates a degree of downward pressure on tech employment. A combination of factors, including AI FOMO, likely contributes to segments of employers taking a wait-and-see approach with tech hiring.”
Job postings slightly decline amid market variability
New employer job postings for tech positions totaled nearly 200,000 in June, a slight decrease from the previous month.
Overall, there were more than 444,600 active tech job postings for June and 2.5 million for the year.
Among major metropolitan markets, San Francisco and Denver saw notable increases in job postings. San Francisco recorded 6,110 open positions, an increase of 1,077 from May, while Denver saw an increase of 424 postings, totaling 3,684. Most other metro markets experienced modest declines.
Shift in education requirements for tech jobs
The report also highlighted a shift in education requirements for tech positions. In June, 46% of all active tech job postings did not specify a four-year degree requirement.
This trend was even more pronounced for certain key tech roles, such as network support specialists (90%), IT support specialists (73%), network and systems administrators (54%), network architects (50%), and database administrators (50%).
Mixed employment landscape for tech sector
While the tech industry continues to add jobs and evolve its hiring practices, the overall employment landscape remains mixed with both growth and setbacks.
CompTIA’s report suggests that the coming months will be crucial in determining whether the tech sector can sustain its growth amidst broader economic challenges.
