IT Services Factor Significantly in Tech Job Gains

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IT Jobs

IT services accounted for a little more than half of the nearly 200,000 tech jobs that were added to the U.S. economy in 2015, according to CompTIA.

In 2015, the U.S. technology industry added 198,200 new jobs and now employs more than 6.7 million. The tech industry makes up approximately 7.1% of the overall GDP and 11.6% of the total private sector payroll.

The U.S. IT services sector, which added 105,400 jobs in 2015, accounts for about one-third of all tech industry jobs. The total number of IT services jobs now stands at 2.2 million, representing an almost 5% year-over-year growth.

The number of tech job postings in 2015 grew nearly 30% year-over-year compared with 2014.

On average, a tech professional makes $105,400 a year. That’s double the average private wage salary of $51,600 for workers in the U.S.

California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts and Florida had the largest net gain in tech jobs. These states added 59,500, 15,500, 13,800, 11,700 and 11,400 jobs, respectively.

Overall, 45 out of 50 states plus the District of Columbia experienced a growth in tech jobs. Utah, Idaho, Louisiana, California, and North Carolina saw the biggest percentage gains in tech employment.

The state with the biggest portion of its overall economy dependent on IT (23%) is Oregon.

Tech manufacturing saw a gain in 2015, with the addition of 3,700 jobs, suggesting that employment in the sector has stabilized. Tech manufacturing employs roughly 1.14 million people in the U.S. The largest tech manufacturing sectors in 2015 were measuring and control instruments, semiconductors, electronic components, and computer and peripheral equipment. On a percentage basis, the largest gain occurred in the computer and peripheral manufacturing category, with a year-over-year increase of 3.7%.