US IT Sector Records Fourth Consecutive Month of Job Growth

The U.S. information technology (IT) sector added an estimated 8,700 new jobs in May, the fourth consecutive month of employment growth, according to CompTIA, the leading technology industry association.

A CompTIA analysis of today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics “Employment Situation” report finds May job growth occurred in three categories:

• IT services, custom software development and computer system design (+ 6,600 jobs)
• Computer, electronics and semiconductor manufacturing (+ 2,200)
• Other information services, including search portals (+ 2,200)

Shedding jobs last month were the telecommunications (- 1,900) and data processing, hosting and related services (- 400) categories.

“As one of the largest industry sectors in the U.S. economy, technology continues to extend its reach in terms of employment and economic impact,” said Tim Herbert, senior vice president for research and market intelligence at CompTIA. “While the ongoing shifts to as-a-service and software-centered models are evident in the data, hardware and infrastructure remain vital components of the tech ecosystem.”

Employers posted nearly 314,000 job openings for IT occupations in May. That’s an increase of 80,930 over April, and one of the largest month-over-month jumps in recent years. Software and application developer openings led the way, with 94,700 job postings, an increase of 26,500 positions over April.

Tech occupation employment across all sectors of the economy declined by an estimated 12,000 positions in May. That marked the third consecutive month of job reductions, after the year started with two strong months of hiring. This volatility reflects the higher degree of variance in monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics data at the occupation level, so these figures should be viewed as directional.

Overall, the U.S. economy added a better-than-expected 223,000 jobs in May as the labor market maintained its steady growth. The May unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent, a slight drop from 3.9 percent in April.