The US IT industry added approximately 9,600 new jobs to the market in June, hitting five straight months of IT employment gains, according to a recent report from tech industry association CompTIA.

IT employment has increased by a total estimate of 48,900 jobs in 2018, according to CompTIA’s review of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation report.

CompTIA analyzed job growth in four key areas of the IT employment sector. Three categories led the market for the month of June: IT services, custom software development and computer system design added 6,000 jobs; computer, electronics and semiconductor manufacturing increased by 5,100 jobs; and data processing, hosting and related services grew by 1,100 jobs, said the report.

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“Despite the mixed bag of results in the tech labor market over the past several months, demand for tech talent remains strong,” CompTIA senior vice president of research and market intelligence Tim Herbert said in a press release. “There will always be a degree of volatility in BLS data from month-to-month. Over the long-term, we expect the growth trajectory to continue.”

However, the fourth area–telecommunications employment–decreased by 3,200 job positions in June, and 18,200 so far in 2018 overall, the report found. The decrease isn’t much of a surprise with the focus shifting to new technologies. “This reflects the ongoing dynamic of telecom companies pursuing growth in new areas such as the Internet of Things, 5G and IT services, while contending with the maturing technologies and business models of the past,” Herbert said in the release.

While the rise of IT jobs bodes well for individuals entering the job market, technological advances also pose a problem. The decrease in telecommunications employment proves the negative impact new technologies can have on the job market. What sector is next?

The big takeaways for tech leaders:

  • The US IT employment sector added 9,600 jobs in June alone, providing opportunity for incoming tech pros to join the market.
  • While tech jobs are increasing, other areas–like telecommunications–are seeing decreasing job numbers, based on the rise of new technologies in that sector.