Employers' search for technology workers, from tech support staff to artificial intelligence (AI) specialists, accelerated in May, analysis by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce, reveals.

Technology companies added staff in May, though at a slower pace than recent months, CompTIA's analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) #JobsReport data reveals. The tech sector added 2,181 jobs last month, increasing employment to nearly 5.6 million workers.¹

New job postings for tech occupations reached 209,000 in May, an increase of nearly 27,000 from April and the highest total since June 2023, according to CompTIA's "Tech Jobs Report." In total there were almost 427,000 active tech job postings last month.² The steady ascent of job postings for AI occupations or positions requiring AI skills continued, totaling more than 26,000 and accounting for 12% of all tech openings.

The unemployment rate for tech occupations dropped to 2.5%, well below the national rate of 4%. Technology occupations throughout the economy declined by 42,000, less than 1% of the total base of tech occupation employment of almost 6.4 million.³

"The jump in tech job postings is an encouraging indicator more employers are coming off the sidelines," said Tim Herbert, chief research officer, CompTIA. "It may reflect pent up demand for the tech talent companies will need to support digital growth initiatives."

Several tech occupation categories saw double-digit increases in job postings in May, including data scientists (+24%), database administrators (18%), software developers (+17%), web developers (15%), network architects (12%) and tech support specialists (+10%).

Three states saw tech job postings grow by more than 2,000 for the month – Texas (+2,978), California (+2,804) and Illinois (+2,062). Increases of more than 1,000 job postings occurred in four other states (Georgia, New York, Michiganand Florida).

A number of metro markets experienced impressive increases in tech job postings, including Lansing (37%), Indianapolis(35%), Providence (30%), Chicago (29%), and San Antonio (28%), Washington has the highest volume of job postings (13,710) while New York City saw the biggest month over month increase in job posting volume (+1,793, to 12,023).

CompTIA's new report also shows that 45% of all active tech job postings in May did not specify that candidates have a four-year degree, signaling that employers are widening their search for tech talent. Some essential tech positions had even higher percentages, such as network support specialists (86%), IT support specialists (72%), network and systems administrators (54%) and programmers (50%).

The "CompTIA Tech Jobs Report" is available at https://www.comptia.org/content/tech-jobs-report.