Throughout 2019, it was apparent that the most open and opportune job market was in information technology, and by the end of the year and a capped decade, there were an estimated 12.1 million tech workers. The technology workforce in the US expanded by 2.3 million jobs, according to Cyberstate 2020, an annual US tech industry guide from The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), which covers occupations and trends.
Some 2020 Guide highlights include:
- An estimated $1.9 trillion reflects the direct economic output of the tech industry, representing 10% of the national economy
- There were 307,000 new tech jobs added in 2019
- There were 4.6 million tech job opening posts
- Nearly 822,000 posts were for emerging tech areas
- Software and web developers represent the fastest growing category of tech jobs, at 1.6 million
- The median tech worker wage is nearly double the median nation wage
- There are 557,000 tech businesses in the US
- There were 13,400 tech startups launched in 2019
- Of the 22 top level occupation categories, tech job creators rank fourth
- The economic impact of the tech industry is $1.9 billion
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Image: CompTIA
An interactive map within the guide looks at the tech sector and tech occupations in the US, and “Explore your tech landscape” allows the visitor to denote state, metro areas, net tech employment, and a state search by population size. There’s a box of drop-down menus, but when a cursor hovers over a state, it names it and gives the following information:
- Net tech employment
- Net tech Employment rank
- Net tech Job added rank
Image: CompTIA
Top industry sectors
IT services and custom software services is the top leading tech industry sector (2.7 million ), followed by tech manufacturing (1.2 million), engineering and testing (1.9 million) and, lastly, telecommunications and internet services (1.4 million).
Image: CompTIA
Tech occupation wages
Median tech wages are 90% higher than the median national wages
Image: CompTIA
Key forces shaping the tech industry
The guide said the iterative fusion of tech building blocks and emerging tech, coupled with people and process will be the base of the next wave of innovation. The categories are:
- Artificial intelligence (AI) eats the world (“global domination”)
- Hype meets reality with technology
- Cybersecurity becomes more operational
- Demand for integration drives demand for automation
- Internet of Things (IoT) continues to redefine architecture
- Workforce diversity grows in many ways
Based on projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and EMI, the base of tech employment will grow to more than 8.8 million in 2028.
The job market is still hot
The estimated 12.1 million tech employees in the US for 2019 is an increase of nearly 2.3 million workers or 23% during the decade; the highest growth over the decade was in 2018. The only negative growth happened in 2010, mirroring job losses nationwide, on the heels of “The Great Recession.”
Top growth occupations during the decade on a change basis:
- +504k Software developers, applications
- +265k IT support specialists
- +244k Emerging tech, IT project mgt., data, and other
- +137k CIOs and IT managers
- +101k Systems engineers/analysts
Top growth occupations during decade on a percent of change basis:
- +158% Cellular tower equipment installers/repairers
- +134% Cybersecurity analysts
- +120% Emerging tech, IT project mgt., data, and other
- +102% Software developers, applications
- +88% Web developers
Image: CompTIA
The data-driven guide features detailed job, state, city, industry and other rankings for the tech industry.
In addition to the website and its interactive features, the Cyberstates 2020 guide is downloadable.
Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto
