US Tech Sector Employment Expands by 13,500 Jobs in November, CompTIA Analysis Reveals

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Dec., 2018  — The U.S technology sector recorded another strong month for employment growth in November, adding an estimated 13,500 new jobs, according to an analysis by CompTIA, the leading technology industry association.

As has been the case throughout the year, job growth was led by new hiring in IT services, custom software development and computer system design. An estimated 7,600 jobs were added in the category last month.

“Despite the looming economic headwinds, employer demand for tech talent remains steady,” said Tim Herbert, senior vice president for research and market intelligence at CompTIA. “The past three months have been the best stretch for technology industry employment gains this year.”

The CompTIA report also reveals that November job gains occurred in computer and electronic products manufacturing (+ 3,200, including + 1,400 in semiconductors and electronic components manufacturing); information services, including search portals (+ 2,700); and data processing, hosting and related services (+ 1,100).

Employment in the telecommunications category declined by an estimated 1,100 jobs, according to the association’s analysis of today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics “Employment Situation” report.

Hiring for core technology jobs across the entire economy increased by some 67,000 positions in November.

To put the tech sector’s job gains in some context, here’s how other sectors of the economy performed last month:

The November unemployment rate for IT occupations was reported as 2.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, down slightly from the 2.5 percent rate in November 2017. Women and men working in IT occupations have identical unemployment rates of 2.4 percent.

New job postings for core technology workers was down an estimated 22,626 positions, to 273,980, though the total was still above the 2018 monthly average of 252,000.

The CompTIA IT Employment Tracker report is available at https://www.slideshare.net/comptia/comptia-it-employment-tracker-december-2018.