Main image of article Tech Unemployment Rose in June

The tech unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent in June, a notable increase after dipping to 2.5 percent in May.

“Despite pockets of growth, the recent data indicates a degree of downward pressure on tech employment,“ Tim Herbert, chief research officer of CompTIA, wrote in a statement accompanying its analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. “A combination of factors, including AI FOMO, likely contributes to segments of employers taking a wait and see approach with tech hiring.”  

One of those pockets of growth was the tech industry itself, which added 7,540 net new workers in June. While that was the biggest monthly increase for this calendar year, the broader economy lost 22,000 tech occupations. New employer job postings for tech positions hit 200,000, down somewhat month-over-month.

Tech occupations that saw the most job posting activity in June included software developers and engineers, data scientists, IT support specialists, and network architects. However the unemployment rate fluctuates, keep in mind that companies everywhere still need highly specialized tech talent for a range of tasks, from building websites to training the next generation of AI models. Some of the jobs that have enjoyed increases in job postings this year include:

For those just graduating from school and interested in a tech career, there are likewise opportunities out there for those with tech and computer science skills, including various flavors of analyst, IT operations, and researchers. Cities such as Washington DC, New York City, and Dallas have maintained strong hiring patterns for tech professionals.

According to layoffs.fyi, tech layoffs ticked upward slightly between May and June, although we’re a long way from the massive cutbacks of early 2023. Prominent tech companies that have trimmed workers within the past month have included PayPal, Microsoft, Fisker, Google, and eBay.