Main image of article Tech Unemployment Held Steady in October

The tech unemployment rate held steady at 2.6 percent in October, according to a new analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data by CompTIA.

The tech unemployment rate had dipped from 3.4 percent to 2.5 percent in September, the biggest such dip in four years. “Despite the higher than usual noise in this month’s labor market data, there are a number of positives to point to on the tech employment front,“ Tim Herbert, chief research officer for CompTIA, wrote in a statement accompanying the data. “The data indicates employers continue a balanced approach to hiring across core tech job roles and innovation enabling roles.”

Although employment within the tech sector declined by 4,029 jobs, “tech professions throughout the economy increased by 70,000” last month, CompTIA’s report added. Posting data was strong in multiple subcategories, including cybersecurity, support, data and infrastructure, and software. Recent hurricanes across the Southeast may have impacted some hiring, as well.

Tech jobs with the most posting activity included:

  • Software developers and engineers
  • IT project management, data analysts, emerging tech specialists
  • Data scientists
  • Tech support specialists
  • Network architects

Those jobs don’t tend to vary much from month to month; numerous businesses across multiple sectors always need tech specialists who can build software, manage projects, analyze data, and support an organization’s tech needs. However, it’s critical to remember that tech is always evolving, and that emerging technologies are mentioned in an ever-increasing number of job postings. For example, some nine percent of tech job postings in San Jose, one of the epicenters of Silicon Valley’s tech scene, are for artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) jobs; in New York City, another major tech hub, it’s five percent.

As more companies embrace AI, it’s critical to meet the moment with skills such as data analysis, critical thinking and problem solving. As AI tools grow more sophisticated, more tech jobs will incorporate them into their workflows.