Technology’s Impact on the Economy and Jobs
The U.S. tech industry continues to grow with 6.9 million workers employed and 182,220 new jobs added in 2016. More than 25 million U.S. workers can be characterized as tech sector employees, in a tech occupation or as knowledge workers engaged in an occupation where technology use is a critical component of the job. CompTIA’s annual Cyberstates report takes a comprehensive look at the U.S. IT industry and workforce from a national, state and local view by aggregating various data sources and making the information easy to use and understand.
As far as technology’s impact, tech annually contributes an estimated $1.3 trillion to the U.S. economy, accounting for 7.5 percent of the annual GDP. These are great jobs, with the average annual wage of a U.S. tech industry worker at $108,900; more than double the national average wage! The top five states for job growth in 2016 were Utah (6.0 percent), North Carolina (5.9 percent), Michigan (5.1 percent), Washington (4.9 percent), and Montana (4.5 percent). Thirty-six states generated positive tech sector job growth. In 2016, notable tech industry employment gains were recorded in California (+ 48,578 jobs), New York (+11,210), North Carolina (+ 11,095), Texas (+ 11,061) and Michigan (+ 10,734).
The Cyberstates analysis includes a breakdown of types of jobs. In fact, 46 percent of the tech sector workforce consists of tech occupation jobs like programmers, developers and IT analysts. The remaining 54 percent are in support roles such as sales, human resources, and finance. Software developers, computer systems analysts, and IT support specialists recorded the largest gains in employment. These four occupations added 71,450 new jobs, accounting for over half of the increase.
The outlook for tech employment is strong, with 626,560 postings technology occupation jobs during Q4 of 2016. This industry is experiencing the “silver tsunami” that others are dealing with and job openings are quickly growing, which presents a unique opportunity for those looking to enter the industry. CompTIA, the largest technology trade association in the world, works to improve technology industry, businesses and individuals through advocacy, research and thought leadership.
To learn more about technology employment in the U.S., please visit www.cyberstates.org
CompTIA’s SLED Council is a consortium of executives from leading technology companies who share a common mission to be ‘The voice of the IT Industry Serving the State & Local Government and Education (SLED) market.’ Our members, guided by an Executive Council of leading industry executives, collaborate with CompTIA staff, state government affairs advocates and other resources to drive member-led initiatives focused on advancing the interests of the IT industry in the SLED market.