New data on tech hiring activity continues to be consistent in its inconsistency, according to analysis by CompTIA, the leading global provider of vendor-neutral information technology (IT) training and certifications.
Tech occupation employment, which encompasses employers across all industry sectors, increased by an estimated net new 247,000 workers in August, CompTIA analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) #JobsReport data reveals.1 Larger than expected monthly swings in this measure of tech employment will inevitably smooth out over the course of annual reporting.
The unemployment rate for tech occupations inched up to 3% in August, compared to 2.9% in July. An estimated 6.9 million professionals are employed in core tech positions.
On the tech sector employment side, tech companies reduced staffing by a net 2,311 positions inclusive of all types of positions.2 The BLS also revised its July estimate for tech sector employment upward slightly, showing a more modest decline than originally reported.
There were 446,763 active employer job postings for technology positions in August, down 2.6% from July, according to CompTIA analysis of Lightcast job posting data.3 That includes 186,769 postings newly added last month. Positions for software developers and engineers (37,180), systems engineers and architects (15,871), tech support (12,822) and cybersecurity engineers and analysts (10,963) had the highest totals of new listings.
“Unevenness in the data means acknowledging the employers and job seekers struggling with a multitude of challenges but also recognizing it is not all doom and gloom,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer, CompTIA. “Hiring intent data continues to show employers pursuing tech talent across a range of disciplines, from AI and data science to tech support and cloud engineering.”
Active employer job listings that included an artificial intelligence (AI) skills requirement increased again for the month. CompTIA’s AI Hiring Intent Index shows an increase of 94% in August compared to the same period in 2024.
An examination of job postings by required years of experience shows that 29% of openings were for workers with 4-7 years of experience; 21% for workers in the 0–3-year range; and 16% for workers with 8 or more years of experience.
Only three states – Maine, Delaware and Idaho – saw tech job postings increase in August. In each instance, the increase was less than 100 new postings. The story was similar at the metro level, with just four markets recording growth. San Jose saw an increase of 127 job postings, from 5,808 in July to 5,935 in August. Little Rock had the biggest percentage increase (+ 10%) in job postings, from 987 in July to 1,090 in August.
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