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US adds 70,500 tech jobs in first half of year, CompTIA says

August 24, 2015

The US information technology industry added 70,500 jobs in the first half of 2015 for a total of almost 5.0 million jobs, according to an IT employment midyear update report released by CompTIA. The industry gained jobs in 14 of the past 18 months.

The IT services sector led the job growth, adding 45,700 jobs from January to June 2015, according to CompTIA. Manufacturing and software followed, adding 10,300 and 4,900 jobs respectively.

“With steady job growth, the IT industry continues to outperform many other sectors of the US economy,” said Tim Herbert, senior VP, research and market intelligence, CompTIA.

Most facets of IT employment remain strong, with the largest gains during the first half of 2015 recorded in IT services, up 2.4%, and software, up 1.5%. Tech manufacturing grew less than 1%, mirroring the 0.9% growth rate for the telecommunications and internet services sector.

“The continuing trends of ‘everything-as-a-service,’ ‘software-defined everything’ and the proliferation of devices and applications requiring integration and support have spurred hiring by a wide range of IT companies,” Herbert said.

Job postings for IT occupations increased 20% during the second quarter compared to the first quarter. Cybersecurity jobs, software developers, data scientists, Web developers and network architects showed the largest increases.

“The data confirms the breadth and demand for technology expertise,” Herbert said. “Beyond traditional employers of IT workers, sectors such as healthcare, defense, retail and finance are now represented among the top 20 of companies with hiring intent.”

CompTIA cautioned the unemployment rate for computer and mathematical positions moved higher in back-to-back months, hitting 3.4% in July, which is still lower than the overall national rate of 5.3%. CompTIA said it is still too soon to say whether this is a momentary blip or the start of a trend.