U.S. information technology sector employment grew by an estimated 14,500 jobs in July, the best month for industry job growth so far in 2018, according to an analysis released by CompTIA, the leading technology industry association.

Gains were recorded in all employment categories, led by IT services, custom software development and computer system design, which added some 8,300 positions last month according to CompTIA's review of today's Bureau of Labor Statistics "Employment Situation" report.

For the year, the IT industry workforce has expanded by an estimated 71,800 jobs, with 70 percent of those positions coming from the IT services and custom software development category.

"For tech employment, there is a lot to like in this month's jobs report," said Tim Herbert, senior vice president, research and market intelligence, CompTIA. "The July numbers align to show continuing tech employment momentum heading into the second half of the year."

Across the entire economy, employers added some 75,000 core technology jobs to their employment roles in July, reversing some of the declines of recent months, but still off its peak from earlier this year.

Matching the positive jobs report, the CompTIA IT Industry Business Confidence Index  increased 2 points during Q3 to 68.1 on a 100-point scale. All three components of the Index – sentiment about the U.S. economy, the IT industry and one's own company – experienced increases. 

More on July Jobs Report

Within the IT sector in July, the category of other information services, including search portals, added 2,400 new jobs, the highest monthly gain in this segment this year.

The computer, electronics and semiconductor manufacturing category added an estimated 2,900 jobs. For the year, tech manufacturing employment has grown by an estimated 14,400 positions.

Even the telecommunications category – which has experienced employment declines each month during the first half of the year – ended July in positive territory, albeit with a modest gain of 600 jobs.

Employment in data processing, hosting and related services grew by 300 positions.

The July unemployment rate for IT occupations followed suit was unchanged at 1.9 percent, which remains one of the lowest rates across all occupation categories.

Looking ahead on the employment horizon, companies increased the number of job postings for technology positions by an estimated 53,000, to just over 300,000 in July. That's well above the January 2018 figure of 150,000 job posting.

"An examination of the companies looking for tech talent show that it covers much of the economy, including technology, consulting, financial services, retail, healthcare, and defense," Herbert said.