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Up, down, and all around—the tech jobs market continues to show overall strength, but some changes are raising concerns.
According to numbers from certification trade group CompTIA, tech industry jobs increased by 7,540 in June. It was the biggest bump in 2024 so far, CompTIA said, and the industry continues to lead hiring across the economy. IT and custom software services and system design job postings increased by 7,400 month over month; cloud services by 1,000.
Troubled waters. But there are warning signs on the horizon. Tech jobs across the economy dropped by 22,000 in June, and the sector’s unemployment rate rose 1.2% from May’s 2.5% to 3.7% for the month. Jobs for telecommunications and for PC, semiconductor, and components manufacturing declined by 1,300 and 800, respectively.
CompTIA Chief Research Officer Tim Herbert said in a statement that the numbers indicate there might be more turmoil on the horizon.
“Despite pockets of growth, the recent data indicates a degree of downward pressure on tech employment,” Herbert said.
Posting notes. Herbert blamed the rise in tech sector unemployment on, in part, issues like “AI FOMO” holding employers back from hiring.
Nonetheless, the industry added 200,000 job postings, bringing the number of active listings to 444,600 from May’s 427,000. In most tech sectors, job postings largely declined from May, with those for IT project managers, data analysts, and the like dropping a staggering 3,272.
Employers in California, Texas, and Virginia led the way for tech job postings, with 21,928, 18,397, and 11,599 postings, respectively. Washington, DC, led the way for metro areas, with 13,240, while New York City (11,296) and Dallas (8,313) rounded out the top three.
And they weren’t picky about seniority—a third of the postings didn’t specify necessary work experience. One in five postings (22%) asked for zero to three years of experience; 29% required four to seven years; and 15% requested eight or more years’ experience.