Employment numbers in the tech sector effectively stagnated in July, as the industry remained stable amid a tumultuous job market\u2014but a decline in postings could herald trouble ahead.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to CompTIA\u2019s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, which found the tech unemployment rate in July, 2.9%, virtually unchanged from June\u2019s 2.8%. But those numbers belie a more complicated picture, as the tech sector reduced staffing by a net 10,314 jobs.<\/p>\n
Steady as she goes.\u00a0Still, as CompTIA Chief Research Officer Tim Herbert said in a press release, the overall strength of the tech labor market shows promise for employers and employees alike.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn an environment where uncertainty is the norm, the latest tech employment data is a welcome mix of some reasonably positive measures, and then, of course, some lagging measures,\u201d Herbert said.<\/p>\n
Employment stayed even in PC, semiconductor, and components manufacturing; and increased by 400 positions in information services. Meanwhile, employment declined by 5,200 in IT and custom software services and system design; by 3,500 in cloud infrastructure, data processing, and hosting; and by 2,300 in telecommunications.<\/p>\n
Rocky road.\u00a0Job postings told another story, with heavy drops in all sectors. Job postings were down for software developers or engineers by 4,189 positions, systems engineers by 2,313; cybersecurity engineers by 2,227; network engineers and architects by 1,150; and tech support specialists by 1,126.<\/p>\n
The top five states for overall job postings all registered losses: top dog California by 5,037; Texas by 1,319; Virginia by 1,122; New York by 1,560; and, rounding out the quintet, Florida by 588. That meant that the states seeing the highest increase in postings were largely in the double and single-digit range, other than South Carolina, which saw an increase of 432; Pennsylvania by 400; and Connecticut by 186.<\/p>\n
It was a similar story when it came to the metros; tech job postings declined by 1,024 in Washington DC; New York by 1,715; Dallas by 573; Atlanta by 369; and Chicago by 170. The metros seeing increases were all in the double and single digits, with the exception of Columbia, South Carolina, with 360; Pittsburgh with 264; Virginia Beach, Virginia, with 191; and Philadelphia with 137.<\/p>\n
Stay tuned.\u00a0It\u2019s tough timing. A\u00a0new report from Indeed\u2019s Hiring Lab<\/a>\u00a0shows that job postings still haven\u2019t returned to pre-pandemic levels, down 36% in July from early 2020. AI could be partly to blame, the employment analysis firm found, but nailing down exactly when and how is difficult. Reporting\u00a0from CIO.com<\/a>\u00a0noted that there are some survey numbers that indicate employers are looking toward AI to fulfill what would have been entry-level responsibilities, restricting the job market for early-career hires.<\/p>\n This report was originally published<\/a> by IT Brew<\/a>.<\/p>\n