How many jobs are available in technology in the US?

Market distortions caused by hurricanes and labor strikes slowed the pace of hiring to the lowest point since December 2020, according to the latest government jobs report.

An analysis of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs report also revealed the tech unemployment rate for the October was essentially unchanged at 2.6%, up from 2.5% in September. Nationally, the overall unemployment rate also held steady at 4.1%.

The US economy added just 12,000 jobs in October, compared to 254,000 jobs added in September; the number of job openings remained static at 7.4 million.

With more than 113,000 tech businesses in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, the states hardest hit by two hurricanes that caused widespread damage, disruptions may have affected hiring, according to the BLS and other reports.

That said, BLS data over the last few years has been re-adjusted more than any time in the past, according to IT jobs research firm Janco Associates. In August, for example, the BLS revised its count for the total number of jobs created this year down by 818,000.

Ger Doyle, head of tech recruitment firm Experis North America, said the October jobs report “may seem like a house of horrors,” but it is more than likely a temporary slowdown due to weather disruptions and labor strikes.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Experis’ data shows a more nuanced picture of a labor market facing both short-term challenges and long-term resilience, according to Doyle. Month-over-month, there have been declines in hiring across manufacturing, legal and engineering industries. And, businesses continue to be cautious about expanding their workforce, likely due to economic uncertainties or cost-control measures, Doyle said.

“However, we’re still seeing growth above 2023 levels, which provides moderate optimism for the market as economic conditions stabilize,” Doyle said. “Sectors like science and R&D are seeing substantial growth, reflecting strategic investments in innovation.”

U.S. employers listed 528,402 active employer job postings for tech positions last month, including almost 223,000 new listings, according to CompTIA, a non-profit tech industry association. Positions for database architects (up 10%) and network and computer system administrators (up 6%) represented the biggest percent change increases from September, CompTIA data showed.

The most postings were for software development, engineering, IT project management, data analysis, emerging tech, data science, and tech support specialists, according to CompTIA.

“Despite the higher than usual noise in this month’s labor market data, there are a number of positives to point to on the tech employment front,“ said Tim Herbert, chief research officer for CompTIA. “The data indicates employers continue a balanced approach to hiring across core tech job roles and innovation enabling roles.”

Overall, the outlook for the labor market remains positive, and with a soft landing for the economy appearing likely as inflation continues to cool, cautious employers might soon begin to hire more broadly in other sectors.

Tech professions throughout the economy increased by 70,000 in October, to nearly 6.5 million workers in the aggregate. Employer job posting data indicates broad-based hiring across software, cybersecurity, support, data and infrastructure, according to CompTIA.

Job data over the past two years has been a mixed bag of good times and bad; 260,000 tech workers were laid off in 2023, with another 142,000 getting pink slips so far this year, according to Layoffs.fyi. At the same time, US unemployment data released last month showed unexpected growth overall for tech job listings and hiring, along with a marked shift in the kind of workers organizations need — AI talent is no longer at the top of the list.

So what’s going on?

“While the labor market overall is performing well and unemployment is low, some sectors are doing much better than others,” said Allison Shrivastava, an economic research associate at Indeed’s Hiring Lab.

September 2024

Unemployment data released today showed surprising growth overall for technology job listings and hiring, but also marked shift in the kind of workers organizations need — with AI talent no longer at the top.

Employer job postings for future technologists climbed for the second consecutive month to more than 516,000 active listings, including 225,000 new listings added in September.

While the overall US unemployment rate shifted little, the unemployment rate for tech jobs plummeted from 3.4% in August to 2.5% in September, according to CompTIA, a nonprofit association for the tech industry and workforce. 

It was the steepest month-over-month decrease in tech unemployment in four years, according to CompTIA. The last time the unemployment rate in tech was even close to being as low as it was last month was in October 2020, when it was 2.8%.

“It was never really a question of if, but when employers were going to resume hiring,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer for CompTIA. “A broad mix of companies viewed recent economic developments as the green light to move forward in addressing their tech talent needs.”

Job postings were dispersed across industries, reflecting the universal nature of technology in the global economy. Companies in automotive (General Motors, Ford), financial services (JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo), healthcare (Cardinal Health, CVS Health, Humana, Intermountain Health), hospitality (Marriott International), and technology (Apple, Google, Meta, Oracle, TEKsystems) were among employers with the highest volumes of tech job postings last month. 

Overall, US employment increased by 254,000 in September, which dropped the unemployment rate from 4.2% in August to 4.1% in September, according to a US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report released today. 

Across the entire economy, tech occupation employment increased by 118,000 new positions in all sectors. Tech companies in September specifically added 8,583 new positions, which includes both technical and non-technical (business) jobs, according to CompTIA. 

“We always caution that this number from the [BLS] tends to experience higher levels of variance and volatility, so you can see big swings from month to month,” a CompTIA spokesman said.

The number of unemployed people in the US, at 6.8 million, changed little in September, according to BLS data. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.8%, and the number of unemployed people was 6.3 million.

A closer look at the data for tech hires showed companies are pulling back on their need for AI pros and are instead seeking and hiring data researchers who can help businesses make better decisions – whether to advance AI or business strategy.

Job openings for tech support specialists and database administrators were up 14%, the largest percent change for the month.

After nine consecutive months of growth, the total number of job postings for AI and machine learning engineers declined by 3.7% in September. And new job postings declined by 13.7% during the same period, according to Ger Doyle, head of Experis North America, a ManpowerGroup tech recruiting subsidiary. 

“This is mainly due to shifting demands. While there is less demand for software developers, there is increasing demand for roles such as solutions architects and data scientists to build robust data foundations,” Doyle said.

Lightcast

Demand is also up for science and R&D jobs, where there’s a significant need for statisticians, data scientists and database architects. Those roles saw growth across several sectors including retail, government, life sciences, and tech.

“Employers may be talking about AI, yet they’re hiring for data,” said Becky Frankiewicz, president of ManpowerGroup’s North America Region.

A rise in statisticians and mathematicians is the result of companies taking a step back “and saying, okay, AI is coming for sure,” she said.

“There’s a lot of hype around it,” Frankiewicz said. “What do I need to do now versus getting ahead of myself with AI? I need to get foundational data. I need data that I can organize and aggregate and pull from in a way that helps me make informed decisions. And that’s a very foundational move for the labor market, and a good one for the future.”

While interest in AI jobs may be waning, that’s almost certain to change once companies organize and clean their data lakes.

“The first step is making sure your data is stable, and even before AI, you can do a lot of analysis on data, which is what we’re seeing hires like Amazon, Walmart, start to do,” Frankiewicz said.

CompTIA’s analysis of data from labor market analysis company Lightcast also revealed 46% of tech job postings in September did not specify that candidates require a four-year degree for hiring consideration.

Over the past two years, organizations — including the federal government — have steadily dropped college degree requirements on job postings, opting instead to focus on skills-based hiring.

Doing so helps companies find and attract a broader pool of candidates who are better suited to fill positions in the long term, and it opens up opportunities to non-traditional candidates, including women and minorities, according to McKinsey & Co.

At Google, for example, a four-year degree is not required for almost any role at the company — and a computer science degree isn’t required for most software engineering or product manager positions. “Our focus is on demonstrated skills and experience, and this can come through degrees, or it can come through relevant experience,” Tom Dewaele, Google’s vice president of people experience, said in an earlier interview.

Jobs for statisticians are up for 400%, equating to 37,000 jobs that were posted in the overall economy in September, according to Frankiewicz. 

As the holiday season approaches, jobs in both logistics and data are expected to increase.

“This is set to be another brick and click season. When we look at click, Amazon is hiring more statisticians to better understand consumer demand and purchasing behaviors, allowing them to plan their workforce and supply chains more effectively,” Frankiewicz said.

Martha Heller, CEO of Heller Search, a tech executive headhunter firm, said  of the $600 billion that has already been invested in AI technologies by organizations, a significant portion is going to talent, and not just AI talent. 

“To get ROI from AI, most companies need to hire more data engineers, cybersecurity leaders, and developers, in addition to modelers and prompt engineers,” Heller said. 

One thing is clear, Heller said: technology innovation drives investment, which fuels job growth. But even after today’s positive figures, questions remain unanswered.

For example, Heller said, will the demand for bleeding-edge talent like AI professionals outpace the supply?  Will the ROI from AI allow for continued innovation, or will companies over invest and then need to make cuts?  

“Today’s report shows that we are a long way from AI having a negative impact on employment,” she said.

August 2024

The unemployment rate for tech occupations inched up to 3.4% in August from 3.2% in July, according to analysis of today’s US Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report by tech industry group CompTIA.

Overall, the US economy added 142,000 jobs in August, indicating a cooling of the job market, while the national unemployment rate changed slightly, ticking down from 4.3% in July, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

While the job gains were better than those in July, forecasters had expected about 161,000 new jobs, so August’s gains fell short of expectations. Most of those job gains occurred in construction and healthcare, according to the BLS.

“Both the unemployment rate, at 4.2%, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.1 million, changed little in August,” the BLS said. “These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.8%, and the number of unemployed people was 6.3 million.”

Across the entire economy, tech occupation employment declined by 28,000 positions in August. About 6.3 million people are employed in core tech occupations by companies of all types, according to CompTIA, a nonprofit organization that provides IT certifications and training.

CompTIA

Active employer job postings for tech positions increased modestly to just over 500,000 last month. That includes nearly 211,000 new job postings added in August. Positions for software developers and engineers and data scientists saw the largest month over month increase. Demand also remains solid for tech support specialists, data analysts, IT project managers, and network analysts.

“The bumpy stretch of tech labor market data requires the usual balancing of shorter-term and longer-term perspectives,” said Tim Herbert, CompTIA’s chief research officer.

Job posting data suggests that many employers remain focused on skills-based hiring and are considering candidates who traveled alternate pathways to the technology workforce.

In August, 45% of active tech job postings did not specify a four-year degree requirement among candidates. Several key occupations recorded even higher percentages, including network support specialists (86%), IT support specialists (72%), network and systems administrators (51%), web and UI/UX designers (48%), and database administrators (47%).

Ger Doyle, senior vice president of Experis, a ManpowerGroup-owned IT staffing firm, said the BLS’s August jobs report shows the labor market overall is continuing to soften and level off.

“However, our real-time data reveals encouraging signs in the IT sector. New job postings across IT roles increased by 13% this past month, while the total job postings only saw a more modest 3% increase,” Doyle said. “Meanwhile, demand for AI and machine learning engineers remains strong as open job postings rose by 9% in August compared to July.”

At the same time hiring is looking positive for IT job seekers, there is also a “counterbalancing” trend due to increased competition for IT roles, and people are not leaving their jobs at the same rate as they were when the economy was hotter, according to Doyle.

This year is shaping up to be a less painful one for people working in tech, as layoffs are expected to be somewhat less prevalent but still significant.

Seeking Alpha, a crowd-sourced content service that publishes news on financial markets, noted in a report last month that firings in the tech space had accelerated, with Cisco and Intel announcing the elimination of close to 21,000 jobs.

Layoffs.fyi, a tracker that monitors job cuts in the tech sector, shows that — as of today — the industry has cut more than 135,000 jobs at 429 companies this year.

The Seeking Alpha report noted that at this rate, layoffs should exceed the 165,269 job cuts in the tech sector in 2022, while falling short of last year’s total of 264,220.

Becky Frankiewicz, president of ManpowerGroup’s North America operations, said today’s jobs report demonstrates that the “summer’s Great Waiting Game has continued,” with both employers and employees holding out for proof of improvement versus speculation of forecasts.

ManpowerGroup’s real-time data showed there was an uptick in job postings by organizations following a slower July. Overall, there has been “year-over-year stability.”

That stability, however, has yet to translate into more positive numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Frankiewicz said some of that has to do with typical summer slowdowns in hiring, but she expects employers will begin hiring in earnest in the weeks ahead as they look to shore up their talent needs for the fall.

“We’re seeing gains in government and military, business, finance, and in healthcare,” Frankiewicz said. “As consumers start to prioritize health and wellness, we are seeing the summer of the cost-conscious consumer end with declines in the retail sector.”

Victor Janulaitis, CEO of industry consulting firm Janco Associates, painted a far less optimistic picture in a research note he published earlier this week.

“The latest release of employment data from the BLS shows a continuing trend of fewer open positions than the number of unemployed IT Pros,” Janulaitus said in his research note.

Janco’s numbers are calculated differently from CompTIA’s and the firm’s report showed the overall unemployment rate for IT pros in August soared from 5.6% to 6.0%. High unemployment is defined by the BLS as being 5.5% or greater. Janulaitis said IT unemployment has surpassed the national unemployment rates for seven of the last eight months.

Janco Associates

“The job market for IT Pros is the worst it has been since the dot com bust,” Janulaitis said. “There now are more unemployed IT Pros than positions that are available. The available positions are not for legacy skills, rather they are for AI, LLM, and blockchain technology. Unemployed IT Pros are having more difficulties finding positions at their prior compensation levels in most regions of the country.

“Currently, it can take several months for unemployed IT Pros to complete the interview process and receive a job offer,” he continued. “This is driven by CIOs and CEOs who have pulled back many open requisitions and halted and/or slowed non-critical IT Initiatives.”

CompTIA also publishes a list of the top skills to learn in 2024. The number one skill to learn is artificial intelligence, regardless of your job title. Technical support, networking, cloud computing, and Linux rounded out the top five skills to learn.

“Modern artificial intelligence (AI), especially the most recent addition of generative AI, is poised to change the way work is done,” CompTIA said. “All technology professionals will have to understand the way AI works, from the data used for input to the probability-based output.”

CompTIA

July 2024

Hiring in the technology sector and the broader tech workforce took a step back in July with an overall slowdown in job growth, according to a US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report today and an analysis of that data.

The tech industry shed an estimated 9,162 jobs last month, according to CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the tech industry and workforce.

“Although disappointing, the slowdown in hiring is about in line with expectations,” said Tim Herbert, CompTIA’s chief research officer. “Employers continue to weigh a range of factors in shorter-term tech hiring while eyeing longer-term growth strategies.”

Active employer job postings for tech positions totaled more than 471,000, including 176,324 categorized as new postings added in July. Demand was strongest for software developers and engineers, IT project managers, data analysts and scientists, and tech support specialists, though totals in all occupation categories were down for the month.

That said, the unemployment rate for the tech industry actually dropped significantly — from 3.7% in June to 3.2% in July, according to CompTIA. That compares to the nation’s overall national unemployment rate, which rose to 4.3% in July, according to BLS data.

Only 114,000 jobs were added over all in the US last month; economists had expected around 175,000 new jobs and said the unemployment rate should have remained 4.1%.

CompTIA

Employment continued to trend up in healthcare,  construction, and in transportation and warehousing, though information fields lost jobs, according to the BLS.  Information employment declined by 20,000 in July, but has changed little over the year, according to the agency. (The Information sector includes workers who produce and distribute information and products; those who provide the means to transmit or distribute those products as well as data or communications; and those that process data.)

In June, the tech industry had more workers than any previous month this year, but overall job postings were down month-over-month, just as they were in July.

“Temperatures might be hot around the country, but there’s no summer heatwave for the job market. With across-the-board cooling, we have lost most of the gains we saw from the first quarter of the year,” said Becky Frankiewicz, president of workforce consultancy ManpowerGroup North America.

With the number of new jobs and overall open jobs contracting, the market continues to soften, meaning employers and employees should “sit tight,” according to Frankiewicz.

“We are seeing both sides play the Great Waiting Game — changing roles won’t offer workers the pay gains they saw post-pandemic, and employers are holding onto their talent,” she said. “The loosening in demand we have been waiting for is beginning to emerge — all job functions are showing declines, and we may have hit the peak of the post-pandemic IT hiring surge.”

Realtime data shows hiring remains concentrated in healthcare, logistics and IT, Frankiewicz said.

CompTIA

An analysis of employment data indicates organizations continue to focus on skills-based hiring, according to CompTIA.

In July, for example, 46% of active tech job postings did not specify a four-year degree requirement among candidates. Several key occupations recorded even higher percentages, the group said. Those occupations include network support specialists (87%), IT support specialists (72%), network and systems administrators (52%) and database administrators (50%).

Along with hard skills, soft skills are becoming a key focus of hiring managers in many cases. For example, the ability to get along with co-workers, adapt quickly, critically think and consider strategic vision are all skills highly prized by employers.

Tina Wang, division vice president of human resources at ADP, said there are a few ways for job seekers to bring attention to their behavioral skills. It goes beyond just listing “strong work ethic” or “problem solving” on a resume, “though it’s good to add it there too,” she said.

Job seekers can incorporate behavior skills in a track record of job experiences. “For example, what was an example of ‘ability to work on a team’ at your previous job? Did you manage or actively participate in a long-term project with multiple internal teams and bring together various ideas from these teams into one cohesive strategy,” Wang said.

June 2024

The technology industry added more workers in June than any previous month this year; however, overall job postings were down month-over-month.

New employer job postings for tech positions totaled nearly 200,000 in June, down slightly month-over-month. In total there were more than 444,600 active tech job postings for the month and 2.5 million for the year, according to CompTIA, a nonprofit trade group.

Other measurements, however, were down in June. IT occupations throughout the economy decline by 22,000 positions last month, and the unemployment rate for tech occupations rose to 3.7%, according to CompTIA’s estimates based on an analysis of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report released today.

“It’s another month of mixed signals in the labor data we look at. The tech industry added more workers in June (+ 7,540) than any month so far in 2024,” a CompTIA spokesperson said. “It’s also the first time this year that the industry added workers in consecutive months (+ 3,500 in May).

New employer job postings for open positions declined by about 8,600 from May to June, but there were still 446,000 active postings listed by employers.

The national unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a percentage point from 4% in May to 4.1% in June, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released its monthly jobs report today.

Nevertheless, the June BLS report slightly beat expectations and showed remarkable resiliency, even as inflation (at 3.3%) and interest rates remain higher than the Federal Reserve Board had hoped.

Technology services and software development occupations continue to lead new hiring, a positive sign for the small- and medium-size segment of the sector. The total base of US tech industry employment stands at approximately 5.6 million workers, according to CompTIA.

CompTIA

Overall, wages were up 0.3% from May and up 3.9% compared to the same time last year, further assuaging concerns that inflation could flare up again. Earlier this week, Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the labor market is “cooling off slowly.”

“What we’d like to see is more data like we’ve been seeing recently,” Powell said.

When it came to remote tech job postings in June, software developers saw the greatest uptick in numbers. Postings increased by more than 1,100, bringing the total number of job postings for software developers in June to 11,487, according to CompTIA.

Postings for other IT positions, such as project managers, data scientists, and support specialists were down slightly last month, but not significantly.

Over the past several years, organizations — including the US government — have been removing four-year college degree requirements from job postings. CompTIA’s report showed that 46% of all active tech job postings in June did not specify that candidates have a four-year degree. The percentage was higher for several key tech positions, including network support specialists (90%), IT support specialists (73%), network and systems administrators (54%), network architects (50%), and database administrators (50%).

As is traditional, the BLS revised its previous months’ employment figures; Employment for April was revised down by 57,000, from 165,000 to 108,000 additional jobs, and the May figure was revised down by 54,000, from 272,000 to 218,000 jobs. With those revisions, employment in April and May combined was 111,000 lower than previously reported.

The number of unemployed people, at 6.8 million, changed little in June, while they remained higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.6% and the number of unemployed people was 6 million.

Ger Doyle, ManpowerGroup senior vice president and head of its recruiting subsidiary Experis North America, said that although last month’s numbers were revised down, this month’s unemployment numbers are “a solid uptick.”

“So, we continue to see stabilization and rebalancing,” Doyle said. “This is another proof point for a steady-as-she-goes labor market where demand is shifting in some key sectors and employers and employees are staying put.”

While BLS is a look back in the rear-view mirror, Doyle said, ManpowerGroup’s “real-time data” shows a more significant decline in June vs. May, but stabilization overall in Q2 2024 and this year compared to last year.

“The demand we’re seeing is driven by sectors including legal, sales, marketing, and creative and we’ve seen an uptick in demand for managers, demonstrating the need for leadership to help businesses and employees navigate the recovery,” he said.

May 2024

The hiring of technology professionals is at its highest levels since last year and the unemployment rate for IT workers dropped significantly last month, according to an analysis of data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report today.

Employer tech job posting volumes have not been this high since last June, according to a report by industry group CompTIA. The unemployment rate for tech occupations dropped three-tenths of a percentage point from 2.8% in April to 2.5% in May, well below the national rate of 4%.

Overall, the US economy added more jobs than expected in May, demonstrating a resilient post-pandemic labor market, even as the economy recalibrates in the face of the growing adoption of artificial intelligence. Employers added 272,000 jobs, though the overall unemployment rate ticked up, ending a 27-month streak of unemployment below 4%, according to the BLS.

Tech hiring intent is at its highest point since last year, according to CompTIA, with technology companies adding staff in May — though at a slower pace than recent months. The tech sector added 2,181 jobs last month, increasing employment to nearly 5.6 million workers.

“The jump in tech job postings is an encouraging indicator more employers are coming off the sidelines,” said Tim Herbert, CompTIA’s chief research officer. “It may reflect pent up demand for the tech talent companies will need to support digital growth initiatives.”

Several tech occupation categories saw double-digit increases in job postings, including data scientists (+24%), database administrators (18%), software developers (+17%), web developers (15%), network architects (12%) and tech support specialists (+10%).

Janco Associates

“In real time, we’re seeing a ‘steady as they go’ job market, where demand remains strong but softening in some sectors,” said Becky Frankiewicz, president ManpowerGroup North America. “There are 8.1 million job openings, but job postings are down 8% month over month, according to our real-time data.”

Gains in pay also stabilized at 3.9%, down from almost 6% in 2022, approaching the pre-pandemic levels of 3.1%, according to ManpowerGroup’s data. “This post-pandemic rebalancing is likely to continue throughout the year,” Frankeiwicz said. “While tech hiring isn’t as robust as it used to be, demand remains strong. Software developers and IT generalists are the most in-demand roles in the US today, right behind registered nurses.” 

The IT Job market grew by 10,300 positions over the past three months and by 25,700 in the last 12 months, according to IT consultancy Janco Associates. That compares to 2023, when the IT job market shrank by over 48,600 jobs, according to Janco. (It now estimates there are 119,000 unemployed IT professionals.)

CompTIA

Inflation, which is running at 3.4% annually, actually drove up tech salaries. The median salary for IT professionals rose to more than $103,000, according a mid-year IT salary survey by Janco, with continuing high demand for workers with AI and machine learning skills.

Janco Associates CEO Victor Janulaitis, painted a less sunny picture of the job market for IT pros, with an unemployment rate at 4.5%. “The picture is poor at best and not likely to improve in the short term,” he said. “Companies are continuing to cut back on staff in order to improve productivity. With median compensation for IT Pros at $103K, IT Pros are the focus of many organizations and will continue to see a very soft job market for IT Pros.

Shifting job requirements

CompTIA’s latest report shows that 45% of all active tech job postings in May did not require candidates have a four-year degree, signaling that employers are widening their search for talent. Some essential tech positions had even higher percentages, such as network support specialists (86%), IT support specialists (72%), network and systems administrators (54%) and programmers (50%).

CompTIA’s analysis aligns with hiring trends in many organizations, including the federal government. Studies have shown that employers are ending college degree requirements for many openings, focusing instead on skills, experience, and personality traits. The sea change opens up tech jobs to a more diverse pool of candidates.

And companies (regardless of size) value soft skills over traditional, industry-specific traits for current and potential hires, according to a new MarketPulse survey by pay check company ADP.

The highest ranked skills or traits prioritized in new hires were factors like a strong work ethic, problem solving skills and being detail oriented:

Small Orgs (1 – 49 Employees)

Strong Work Ethic: 53%

Problem Solving: 40%

Detail Oriented: 34%

Medium Orgs (50 – 999 Employees)

Strong Work Ethic: 40%

Problem Solving: 39%

Detail Oriented: 27%

Large Orgs (1,000+ Employees)

Strong Work Ethic: 42%

Problem Solving: 37%

Detail Oriented: 23%

In the workplace, employees are staying put, with quit rates holding steady at 2.2%, according to ManpowerGroup’s data. “As a result, employers are finding ways to incentivize and upskill their current workforce for new roles, as pay gains for job-changers have dipped for the second consecutive month,” Frankienwicz said.

April 2024

The unemployment rate for technology jobs in the US ticked down for the second month in a row in April, as the number of job listings for AI-related positions leaped to 11% of all postings, according to new employment data. And, 26% of all tech job postings in April were for positions in emerging tech or that require emerging tech skills, according to CompTIA, a nonprofit tech trade association. 

Emerging skills include AI, blockchain, IoT, augmented & virtual reality. “None of these individually are generating huge volumes of job openings today, but we feel it’s worth paying attention to,” a CompTIA spokesperson said.

Employers listed nearly 179,000 new postings for tech positions last month. In total, there were an estimated 415,000 active tech job postings.

The unemployment rate for tech jobs inched down from 4% in March to 3.8% in April. That compares to the February figure of 4.5%. according to CompTIA data, which is based on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) latest jobs report.

The BLS on Friday reported that the overall US unemployment rate (3.9%) remained largely unchanged from March, when it was 3.8%. Overall unemployment has ranged between 3.7% and 3.9% since August 2023, according to the BLS. The agency said 175,000 jobs were added in April.

Ger Doyle, head of recruitment service Experis North America, said his organization is seeing “a cooling effect” in the job market. “Our real-time data paints a picture of a job market that is balancing out. We see increased demand in April in medical/health (16%), IT (11%) and executive management (7%), and all have shown growth from Q4 2023,” Doyle said.

Within tech, AI Safety and Compliance roles have seen a sizable increase (129%) since July 2023. “Employers are also raising expectations around IT skill sets for executives and legal functions, and AI/ML engineers are now expected to showcase a blend of technical and soft skills to remain competitive in the job market,” Doyle said.

CompTIA

 For college graduates, the road is tougher, according to Doyle; they’re dealing with an unemployment rate of 6.2%. That trend coincides with employees holding onto their current positions for longer durations, which aligns with a dip in consumer confidence — now at its lowest since July 2022, according to Experis’ data.  

In April, skills-based hiring in the tech marketplace was up sharply. CompTIA reported that 46% of all active tech job postings in the last month did not specify that candidates have a four-year degree. More employers, including the federal government, are leaving behind college degree requirements and embracing a skills-based hiring approach that emphasizes strong work backgrounds, certifications, assessments, and endorsements. And soft skills are becoming a key focus of hiring managers, even over hard skills.

Goldman Sachs

The percentage of postings that did not require a college degree rose markedly for five tech jobs in particular: network support specialists (86%), IT support specialists (73%), network and systems administrators (55%), web and UI/UX designers (51%) and database administrators (48%).

Even though tech unemployment again dipped, the layoffs that began in 2022 have continued this year, indicating a shift in desirable job positions. This year is expected to be a year of recovery for the IT industry. 

“Employers and job seekers continue to navigate a shifting labor market,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA. “Skills-first approaches to hiring and talent development are even more important against this backdrop.” 

Technology companies added an estimated 4,280 workers in April, CompTIA’s analysis of BLS data revealed. Growth was led by hiring in technology services and software development (+5,600) and cloud infrastructure (+900). Cloud infrastructure and data processing and hosting jobs have seen gains in nine of the past 12 months, while positions in tech and software services have risen in 10 of the past 12 months.