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Tech Jobs In The US: Essential Facts & Figures

  • The power of technology is wielding a huge impact on the US labor market. As cloud computing, mobility, big data, automation, and social technologies become common elements for businesses of all sizes, -- and as cybersecurity becomes a constant concern -- the need for employees with technical expertise is growing. That's great news for tech workers, leading to more available jobs and significantly higher wages than other professions.

    In 2015, the US tech industry made up 7.1 % of overall GDP and 11.6 % of the total private sector payroll, according to Cyberstates 2016: The Definitive State-by-State Analysis of the US Tech Industry from CompTIA. The industry added almost 200,000 new jobs last year, now employing more than 6.7 million people. The report represents a comprehensive look at tech employment, wages, and other key economic factors nationally and state by state.

    The IT services sector, which includes firms providing IT implementation, integration, management, support, and custom software development services, increased by more than 105,000 jobs between 2014 and 2015.

    The healthy state of technology in the US is shown in the totals revealed in the Cyberstates report:

    • Tech industry employment:             6,720,860
    • Tech business establishments:       473,460
    • Tech industry payroll:                      $708 billion
    • Average wage in tech industry:       $105,351
    • Average private sector wage:          $51,654

    For more facts and figures, click through the following slides.

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    (Image: CompTIA)

  • The tech industry is alive and well in the US, adding 198,156 jobs in 2015 for a total slightly more than 6.7 million, according to the Cyberstates report. This represents the fifth consecutive year of growth since job declines that took place during the recession in 2009 and 2010.

    New technologies are emerging and developing at a rapid pace, resulting in 3% growth of tech sector employment year over year. That's the highest growth rate in more than a decade and almost a full percentage point higher than the national employment growth rate of 2.1% for 2015.

    CompTIA noted that the employment data illustrated here represents employment at companies with payroll. Workers who categorized themselves as self-employed or sole proprietors of their own firms accounted for an additional 1 million tech workers.

    (Image: CompTIA)

  • Salaries in the US tech industry reflect strong demand for technology skill sets and expertise. CompTIA's report estimated the annualized average wages of technology workers at $105,400 for 2015, representing an inflation-adjusted increase of $1,200, or 1.2%, from the previous year.

    Notably, the average tech wage was more than double (104% more) the average annualized private sector wage of $51,600 in 2015. Those in the software sector earned the highest annualized average wage at $142,500.

    (Image: CompTIA)

  • CompTIA's Cyberstates report also examined growth of technology jobs in industries such as healthcare, financial services, etc. – as opposed to technology manufacturing and services. It describes these positions as "occupational tech" jobs. The report estimated the total number of occupational tech positions at 7.1 million, up 2.6% over 2014.

    The positions with the most growth were Computer Systems Analyst, with a 2% increase over 2014, and Computer User Support Specialists, with a growth rate of 1.9%.

    (Image: CompTIA)

  • Core IT services, representing the firms providing IT implementation, integration, management, support, and custom software development services, generated the largest gains in employment across the entire tech industry, according to the CompTIA report. This sector added nearly a half a million new jobs over the past five years.

    In 2015, this trend continued. IT services jobs jumped by 105,400 for a total of 2.2 million. Much of this growth was fueled by high growth rates in custom computer programming services and computer systems design services, according to the report.

    (Image: CompTIA)

  • Home of the Silicon Valley, it's no surprise that California led US states in technology job gains, boasting 1,150,000 tech industry workers in 2015, according to CompTIA's Cyberstates report. That's almost twice as many as second-ranked Texas and three times more than third-ranked New York. When it came to concentration of tech workers, Massachusetts came in first with 9.8% of its workforce in the tech industry, followed by Virginia at 9.5%.

    An overwhelming majority of states – 46 to be exact – experienced growth in tech positions. Bucking the trend were five states that experienced a drop in tech employment between 2014 and 2015. Delaware decreased the most, along with Alaska, West Virginia, New Jersey and Hawaii.

    (Image: CompTIA)

  • Tech wages were also the highest in California, found CompTIA. The average tech industry wage in California was $149,300 in 2015, up by 2.9% from 2014. The state of Washington was the runner-up at more than $20,000 lower, with an annual average wage of $129,400.

    The report noted that in every US state, technology workers earned significantly more than the average private sector worker. Wage differentials ranged from 36% in the District of Columbia 151% in California. The average tech wage was more than double the private sector wage in 10 states: California, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, Arizona, North Carolina, Colorado, Delaware and New Hampshire.

    (Image: CompTIA)