Modest Growth Keeps the Tech Sector Going--Mostly

As the country continues to climb slowly up from the recession, the tech sector is reflecting modest growth.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the first half of the year saw employment in the tech sector reach almost 6.2 million. However, a report from TechAmerica Foundation, an industry research firm, states that 103,000 jobs were added to the tech sector from January through June, 2013--representing a growth rate of 1.7 percent.

For the same period last year, the growth rate in the tech sector was 1.8 percent. This year's figure is also less than half of the overall private sector growth rate, which stands at 3.6 percent.

Why the tech sector is crawling instead of sprinting

The report from TechAmerica indicates that the primary reason for low gains in tech jobs lies in employers' difficulty with "filling vacant IT and engineering positions." The inability of businesses to access qualified personnel is one of the largest problems facing the tech industry in the United States.

In some cases, access is an issue outside of availability. While the most recent labor report from the government shows that the majority of IT industry segments remain basically even from year to year, there has been a slight rise in unemployment for people in mathematical and computer occupations--a result of more people entering those particular fields.

That being said, a strong staffing partner can provide quality IT candidates. By partnering with a staffing provider, businesses are able to save on time and cost. An IT staffing firm is able to provide pre-screened talent for your company.

Slow but steady growth, and a few big gains

Despite the sluggish growth rate, things in the tech sector remain stable--and some areas are actually developing faster. Some of the findings in the TechAmerica report include:

• There are four broad categories for tech sector jobs in the U.S.--software, engineering, manufacturing, and communications. The first two categories showed definite gains: 40,000 jobs were added in software for a total of nearly two million, and engineering gained 51,400 jobs, bringing the total to 1.7 million.
• The technology manufacturing and communications categories added 3,500 and 8,400 jobs, respectively.
• Over the past six quarters, from January 2012 to June 2013, there were 221,300 jobs added to the tech sector, representing an increase of 3.7 percent.
• According to an early 2013 state-by-state analysis published by TechAmerica, 2012 saw a net increase in tech jobs in 39 states.

Compared with the rest of the private sector, tech industry jobs represent 5.4 percent of all positions. These jobs pay higher average salaries than other private sector occupations.

The tech industry is also demonstrating rapid growth in some specialized areas. Labor market analytics firm Burning Glass International found that software jobs are opening up three times faster than the average for the overall job market--and demand for software specialists in sectors such as the auto industry is increasing even faster. Additionally, the demand for cyber security experts is expanding 3.5 times faster than the total IT job average, and 12 times faster than the overall labor market.

While job growth rate in the tech sector has reflected disappointing gains during the first half of 2013, on whole the industry remains stable and promising for IT professionals as we head into a new year.

If you are looking for IT recruiters in Houston, contact Clearpoint today.

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