TechAmerica, a U.S - based technology trade association, released its latest job report today, which showed job gains in 16 of the last 18 months. In that time, IT jobs have grown from 5.8 million to 6 million, or 3.3 percent. "The technology industry is adding jobs as innovations are helping to propel the tech industry forward," says Matthew Kazmierczak, senior vice president, TechAmerica Foundation.
The four areas that TechAmerica called out were software services, which added 50,800 jobs in 2012; technology manufacturing, which added 9,200 jobs; engineering and tech services, which added 49,900 jobs; and the communications service industry, which saw a decline of 10,700 jobs. TechAmerica bases its report on Bureau of Labor (BLS) statistics from 2012.
Although recovery signals are positive, TechAmerica president Jennifer Kerber warns, "While the tech industry has weathered the downturn better than most, we can't take its strength for granted." Recent BLS statistics for September show IT jobs trending downward with a loss of 1,700 jobs.
That said, Foote Partners CEO David Foote in a recent Network World article was quick to point out that this is likely to turn around quickly. "At the jobs level, I wouldn't be surprised if this turned back around soon because the truth is that many of the IT job segments in the government jobs reports--in particular those in IT services--have been on strong and sustained growth runs for nearly two years. Companies are actively searching for talent and hiring for the future, though with considerable selectivity," says Foote.
Kazmierczak echoed similar sentiments in a TechAmerica's statement, "While the growth has been modest, it is up and fairly consistent. With job growth in three of the four tech sectors, we remain optimistic about continued growth ."
Data pulled from TechAmerica Foundation's Competitiveness Series
Rich Hein covers IT careers for CIO.com. Follow Rich on LinkedIn & Twitter. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline, on Facebook, and on Google+.
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