The document provides an analysis of U.S. tech employment trends, including job postings and employment statistics across various tech occupations from January to December. Key highlights include major hiring rates in software development and IT support roles, with significant increases in tech job postings in states like California and Texas. The report emphasizes the importance of viewing employment data over longer periods due to the volatility of monthly statistics.

1. 4.0
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
Ma
r-19
Apr-19
Ma
y-19
Jun-19
Jul-19
Aug-19
Sep-19
Oct-19
Nov-19
Dec-19
Jan-20
Feb-20
Ma
r-20
Apr-20
Ma
y-20
Jun-20
Jul-20
Aug-20
Sep-20
Oct-20
Nov-20
Dec-20
Jan-21
Note: there are certain limitations in using monthly data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Not all information technology occupation and industry categories are
available on a monthly basis so this data should be viewed as a proxy. Additionally, there tends to be higher levels of volatility and variance in monthly data, so CompTIA
advises viewing workforce trends over a longer period of time.
HIRING ACTIVITY FOR TOP TECH JOBS JAN vs. DEC
Software developers, applications 67,200 +4,300
IT support specialists 21,000 +2,900
Systems engineers/architects 18,200 +1,600
IT project managers 16,000 +2,600
Systems analysts 15,200 +1,400
TOP 5 SUBTOTAL 137,600 +12,800
COMPTIA TECH JOBS REPORT
TECH SECTOR
EMPLOY-
MENT
TECH
OCCUPATION
EMPLOY-
MENT
The tech sector is the largest employer of tech occupations.
Approximately 44 percent of positions within the tech sector
are tech occupations. The remaining 56 percent of occupations
in the tech sector are comprised of sales, marketing, finance,
HR, R&D, and related positions.
TECH SECTOR EMPLOYMENT DETAILS JAN vs. DEC
Computer, electronics, & semiconductor mfg. 1,073,400 +1,300
Telecommunications 685,400 +6,000
Data processing, hosting, & related services 353,500 -1,600
Other info services, including search portals 360,100 +2,500
IT & software services | computer sys. design 2,220,900 +11,300
TOTAL 4,693,300 +19,500
TECH SECTOR EMPLOYMENT
TECH OCCUPATION EMPLOYMENT
COMPONENTS OF THE TECH WORKFORCE DISCUSSION
TECH OCCUPATION JOB POSTINGS
Source:
Burning
Glass
Technologies
Labor
Insights
|
Data
in
thousands
Source:
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics
CPS
|
Data
in
millions
|
Not
seasonally
adjusted
Source:
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics
CES
|
Data
in
millions
|
Seasonally
adjusted
Copyright (c) 2021 CompTIA Properties, LLC, All Rights Reserved | CompTIA.org
projected
projected
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Ma
r-19
Apr-19
Ma
y-19
Jun-19
Jul-19
Aug-19
Sep-19
Oct-19
Nov-19
Dec-19
Jan-20
Feb-20
Ma
r-20
Apr-20
Ma
y-20
Jun-20
Jul-20
Aug-20
Sep-20
Oct-20
Nov-20
Dec-20
Jan-21
Published February 2021
1
Monthly analysis of BLS #JobsReport data covering information technology (IT) employment trending
4.0
4.2
4.4
4.6
4.8
5.0
5.2
5.4
5.6
5.8
6.0
Ma
r-19
Apr-19
Ma
y-19
Jun-19
Jul-19
Aug-19
Sep-19
Oct-19
Nov-19
Dec-19
Jan-20
Feb-20
Ma
r-20
Apr-20
Ma
y-20
Jun-20
Jul-20
Aug-20
Sep-20
Oct-20
Nov-20
Dec-20
Jan-21

2. TOP STATES FOR TECH JOB POSTINGS
TOP 10 STATES JAN vs. DEC
California 35,107 +5,908
Texas 21,221 +491
Virginia 12,114 +535
Florida 11,388 +2,086
New York 11,031 +1,207
North Carolina 9,777 +853
Georgia 9,506 +1,299
Illinois 9,197 +1,143
Washington 8,114 +503
Colorado 8,104 +923
STATE SUBTOTAL 135,559 +14,948
TOP STATES FOR TECH JOB POSTINGS CHANGE
TOP METRO AREAS FOR TECH JOB POSTINGS
TOP 10 METRO AREAS JAN vs. DEC
Washington, DC 14,457 +1,039
New York 13,654 +757
Los Angeles 10,714 +2,278
Dallas 9,887 +590
San Francisco 9,089 +1,303
Chicago 7,959 +747
Atlanta 7,861 +998
San Jose 7,425 +828
Seattle 7,067 +373
Boston 6,362 +356
METRO SUBTOTAL 94,475 +9,269
TOP METROS FOR TECH JOB POSTINGS CHANGE
TOP EMPLOYERS FOR TECH JOB POSTINGS
TOP 10 U.S. EMPLOYERS JAN
Deloitte 3,908
Anthem Blue Cross 3,873
Amazon 2,804
IBM 2,447
Accenture 2,304
Raytheon 1,343
Northrop Grumman 1,295
Travelers 1,228
Ernst & Young 1,210
Microsoft Corporation 1,207
TOP INDUSTRIES FOR TECH JOB POSTINGS
Source: CompTIA analysis of job posting data from Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insights | For metro area data, a minimum of 500 job postings used in analysis
Copyright (c) 2021 CompTIA Properties, LLC, All Rights Reserved | CompTIA.org 2
TOP 10 STATES JAN vs. DEC
California 35,107 +5,908
Florida 11,388 +2,086
Ohio 7,028 +1,577
Georgia 9,506 +1,299
New York 11,031 +1,207
Illinois 9,197 +1,143
Colorado 8,104 +923
Minnesota 5,221 +876
North Carolina 9,777 +853
Wisconsin 3,759 +792
STATE SUBTOTAL 110,118 +16,664
TOP 10 METRO AREAS JAN vs. DEC
Los Angeles 10,714 +2,278
San Francisco 9,089 +1,303
Washington, DC 14,457 +1,039
Atlanta 7,861 +998
San Jose 7,425 +828
New York 13,654 +757
Minneapolis 4,492 +751
Chicago 7,959 +747
Miami 3,325 +696
San Diego 3,414 +634
METRO SUBTOTAL 82,390 +10,031
TOP 10 U.S. EMPLOYERS JAN
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 43,070
Finance and Insurance 20,353
Manufacturing 18,341
Information 13,852
Retail Trade 7,040
Health Care and Social Assistance 6,436
Public Administration 5,904
Educational Services 3,779
Administrative and Support 2,444
Transportation and Warehousing 2,081

3. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE TRENDING
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
11.0
12.0
13.0
14.0
15.0
16.0
Jan-00
May-00
Sep-00
Jan-01
May-01
Sep-01
Jan-02
May-02
Sep-02
Jan-03
May-03
Sep-03
Jan-04
May-04
Sep-04
Jan-05
May-05
Sep-05
Jan-06
May-06
Sep-06
Jan-07
May-07
Sep-07
Jan-08
May-08
Sep-08
Jan-09
May-09
Sep-09
Jan-10
May-10
Sep-10
Jan-11
May-11
Sep-11
Jan-12
May-12
Sep-12
Jan-13
May-13
Sep-13
Jan-14
May-14
Sep-14
Jan-15
May-15
Sep-15
Jan-16
May-16
Sep-16
Jan-17
May-17
Sep-17
Jan-18
May-18
Sep-18
Jan-19
May-19
Sep-19
Jan-20
May-20
Sep-20
Jan-21
ITOccupation Rate National Rate
Unemployment
rate
|
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics
CPS
|
Not
seasonally
adjusted
TOP STATES FOR REMOTE/WFH TECH JOB POSTINGS TOP TECH POSITIONS FOR REMOTE/WFH JOB POSTINGS
Note: not all employer job postings specify whether positions are partial or full remote or work from home (WFH), so there is a degree of uncertainty with the data.
2.4%
January 2021
IT Occupations
Note: non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate as defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics captures individuals actively looking for work in the
past four weeks. Furloughed workers may have an expectation for returning to their employer and therefore are not actively looking and not counted in
unemployment rate figures.
Copyright (c) 2021 CompTIA Properties, LLC, All Rights Reserved | CompTIA.org 3
TOP 10 STATES JAN vs. DEC
California 8,876 +1,583
Texas 5,901 +571
Florida 3,026 +627
New York 2,653 +289
Georgia 2,472 +320
North Carolina 2,470 +388
Illinois 2,435 +336
Virginia 2,251 +148
Colorado 2,024 +209
Pennsylvania 1,891 +110
STATE SUBTOTAL 33,999 +4,581
TOP 10 STATES JAN vs. DEC
Software Developers, Applications 16,832 1,519
IT Support Specialists 7,304 1,442
Web Developers 3,856 669
IT Project Managers 3,817 556
Systems Engineers/Architects 3,675 119
Systems Analysts 3,288 382
Information Security Analysts 2,992 769
Business Intelligence Analysts 2,886 928
Network and Systems Administrators 2,435 278
Database Administrators 2,258 138
STATE SUBTOTAL 49,343 +6,800

4. Copyright (c) 2021 CompTIA Properties, LLC, All Rights Reserved | CompTIA.org 4
TOP METRO AREAS FOR AI JOB POSTINGS
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
0k
10k
20k
30k
40k
50k
60k
70k
80k
90k
100k
Ma
r-19
Apr-19
Ma
y-19
Jun-19
Jul-19
Aug-19
Sep-19
Oct-19
Nov-19
Dec-19
Jan-20
Feb-20
Ma
r-20
Apr-20
Ma
y-20
Jun-20
Jul-20
Aug-20
Sep-20
Oct-20
Nov-20
Dec-20
Jan-21
EmTech Job Postings % of TotalIT Postings
TOP STATES FOR AI JOB POSTINGS
TOP 10 STATES JAN vs. DEC
California 1,833 +234
Texas 764 +80
Virginia 696 +87
New York 630 +74
Washington 518 +9
Massachusetts 416 +16
North Carolina 402 +13
Florida 368 +60
Georgia 358 +43
Illinois 357 +27
STATE SUBTOTAL 6,342 +643
TOP EMPLOYERS FOR AI JOB POSTINGS
TOP 10 U.S. EMPLOYERS JAN
IBM 629
Anthem Blue Cross 620
Deloitte 589
Amazon 314
Ernst & Young 266
Microsoft Corporation 197
KPMG 159
Facebook 110
Wells Fargo 104
Nvidia Corporation 103
TOP 10 METRO AREAS JAN vs. DEC
Washington, DC 855 +29
New York 751 +56
San Jose 593 +99
San Francisco 591 +96
Seattle 501 +18
Boston 403 +39
Los Angeles 389 +46
Chicago 325 +22
Dallas 308 +9
Atlanta 300 +53
STATE SUBTOTAL 5,016 +467
TOP INDUSTRY SECTORS FOR AI JOB POSTINGS
TOP 10 U.S. INDUSTRIES JAN
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 3,026
Finance and Insurance 1,289
Information 1,023
Manufacturing 920
Retail Trade 499
Educational Services 294
Health Care and Social Assistance 234
Public Administration 160
Transportation and Warehousing 88
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 69
EMERGING TECH JOB ROLE AND SKILLS POSTINGS
65,890
9,715
AI JOB ROLE AND SKILLS POSTINGS
Artificial intelligence (AI) job and skill citations as
percentage of total emerging tech job postings
Source: CompTIA analysis of job posting data from Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insights