CompTIA's analysis found that tech industry employment increased in June, but was offset by a slowdown in other key employment indicators. The technology industry added an estimated 7,540 new workers in June, the largest monthly gain in 2024, according to CompTIA's July 2024 Technology Employment Report, based on an analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
But the positive results were offset by the loss of 22,000 skilled jobs across the economy, according to the report. The skilled unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.7 percent, moving in the same direction as the rise in the national unemployment rate for the month.
The U.S. tech industry employs about 5.6 million people in total, with technical services and software development occupations continuing to lead new job growth, a positive sign for small and medium-sized businesses in the industry, CompTIA said. But AI innovation is a double-edged sword, and companies could see it as a reason to either slow hiring or increase hiring of talent with AI skills.
“Despite signs of growth, recent data suggests that tech hiring remains under some downward pressure,” CompTIA chief research officer Tim Herbert said in a statement about the report. “A confluence of factors, including FOMO about AI, is likely contributing to some employers taking a wait-and-see approach to tech hiring.”
Upskilling your existing workforce
According to new research from SoftwareOne, many organizations are instead focusing on upskilling in technology. Dan Raywood, Senior Editor at SC Media UK, reports that while 97% of businesses are prioritizing upskilling, 50% are struggling to find employees with AI skills, and 53% say they currently have insufficient skills to leverage AI.
“The rapid advances in AI and generative AI offer exciting prospects for businesses around the world, but if organisations do not upskill and retrain their workforce now to unlock AI's full potential, they face a talent time bomb,” Brian Duffy, CEO of SoftwareOne, told Raywood.
SoftwareOne's research also found that 84% of companies identify IT talent retention as a major challenge. By focusing on AI as an emerging technology with job growth potential and opportunities for AI-skilled talent, organizations can gain an advantage in the talent market.
“By putting people at the center and demonstrating how these innovations enhance their role rather than threaten it, organizations can foster a culture of empowerment and optimism that leads to higher retention, increased productivity and more meaningful work,” Duffy said.
About 200,000 new tech job openings were posted in June, down slightly from the previous month. The report said there were more than 444,600 new tech job openings in June, and more than 2.5 million for the year.
The CompTIA Tech Jobs Report can be found at https://www.comptia.org/content/tech-jobs-report.
