U.S. IT Sector Posts Solid Job Growth in June, CompTIA Analysis Finds

Staff Report

Monday, July 10th, 2017

U.S. information technology added an estimated 8,400 jobs in June, contributing to the strong job gains experienced across the economy, according to the "CompTIA IT Employment Tracker" released today by CompTIA, the world's leading technology association.

Four of five employment categories in the IT sector recorded job growth last month, CompTIA's analysis of thee Bureau of Labor Statistics "Employment Situation" (#JobsReport) reveals.

Through the first six months of 2017, IT sector employment has expanded by an estimated 61,900 jobs.

IT sector job gains in June exceeded industries such as manufacturing, retail, and transportation, while trailing industries such as construction, healthcare, and accommodation and food services.

"In the dynamic tech sector, it's not uncommon for companies to be in hiring mode, while also shedding workers." said Tim Herbert, senior vice president, research and market intelligence, CompTIA. "Tech companies pursuing new opportunities in cloud, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, or big data, for example, may shift resources to these areas, while scaling back in legacy product lines."

June job growth was led by positions in IT and software services and computer system design, which grew by 4,900 jobs.

Other information services, including service portal (+ 2,300), computer and electronic products manufacturing (+ 1,000) and data processing, hosting and related services (+ 900) were also on the positive side of the jobs ledger in June

The only category with a decline was telecommunications, which shed 700 jobs. For the year, telecom is down an estimated 43,800 jobs.

By comparison, employment in IT services and custom software has expanded by an estimated 99,000 positions through the first half of the year.

The second component of the nation's IT workforce – IT occupations in all other industries – recorded a net gain of 117,000 jobs in June, offsetting the 107,000 decline experienced in June. On the year, net IT occupation jobs remain in negative territory.

Job postings for core IT positions were up approximately 8,400 in June over May. Employer demand for software developers continues to be strong, with a total of 64,100 postings in June.