By Nathalie Voit
Approximately 80,000 technology-related jobs were added to the U.S. economy in 2021, according to a new report released on March 29 by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).
CompTIA’s “State of the Tech Workforce” shows that tech-related employment increased in 44 states in 2021. The addition of 80,000 tech workers to the U.S. labor force was less than projected but a positive gain over 2020’s flat performance.
Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the sector still suffers from sub-optimal job growth. However, by and large, tech workers were spared from the massive job layoffs rampant across other industries, CompTIA said.
Texas (+10,851 new jobs) and Florida (+10,522 new jobs) led the tech job gains in 2021, outpacing job growth in California (+5,165) by more than double. North Carolina (+5,004) and Washington (+4,469) followed suit. On a population-adjusted basis, the top states for job growth were Nevada (+3.3%), Tennessee (+2.9%), Rhode Island (+2.9%), Idaho (+2.7%), and Wyoming (+2.6%).
The Dallas-Fort-Worth-Arlington region added more tech workers (5,321) than any other metro area in the country. Seattle came in second, adding 2,651 tech jobs. Denver, Miami, Austin, and Salt Lake City also posted significant growth.
The U.S. market with the strongest year-over-year gains in employment growth was Salt Lake City at 2.6%. Las Vegas, Colorado Springs, San Antonio, Providence, Oklahoma City, and Nashville were also in the top ten.
The industry is projected to add 178,000 new jobs in 2022. Tech occupations with the strongest projected growth rates for the year are data scientists and analysts (4.3%), cybersecurity professionals (4%), software developers (3.9%), and computer and information research scientists (3.5%), according to the report.
The expected growth rate for tech jobs will be nearly double that of the national jobs rate over the next decade–a testament to the industry’s central role in the lives of ordinary Americans, CompTIA said.
“The data speaks to the ever-evolving tech workforce and its far-reaching impact across the national, state, and metro area economies,” said chief research officer at CompTIA Tim Herbert. “As always, the results are impressive but also a reminder of the collective effort of workers, employers, educators, and industry and government organizations to build and sustain a healthy, dynamic tech workforce.”
Nearly 8.7 million Americans work in tech-related employment. Collectively, tech industry workers account for 9.3% of the value of the U.S. economy, contributing more than $1.8 trillion to the national GDP.
