Indiana technology hiring continues at near-record pace despite inflation

August 10, 2022

Last Friday, August 5, the United States Labor Department released their July jobs data. The U.S. labor force showed robust gains, adding 528,000 workers with unemployment falling to 3.5 percent nationally. Following this data, CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce, published their July jobs report, showing that the tech hiring continues to grow at an even more robust rate. National data show that tech occupations across all industry sectors increased by an estimated 239,000 positions in July, based on the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals.1 The national unemployment rate for tech occupations fell to just 1.7 percent in July. “The tech jobs market has repeatedly outperformed in the face of real and perceived economic weakness,” according to Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA. Nationally, tech employment experienced a net gain of 12,700 workers, the 20th consecutive month of net employment growth. Tech industry net new employment has increased by 143,700 jobs so far this year, which is an increase of 55 percent year-over-year. According to CompTIA, job postings for technology and tech-related positions approached 484,000 in July, a slight decrease from the previous month but still a near record-level.2 Through the first seven months of 2022, U.S. companies listed approximately 3.1 million tech job postings for an increase of 49 percent over the same period in 2021. The bottomline is this: demand continues to far outpace the supply for tech roles, and tech job growth continues to outpace nearly all other professional sectors. For those working in virtually any tech role across sectors and company size, hiring is robust. CompTIA’s analysis shows there are employment opportunities at every experience level, in a variety of occupational categories and in nearly every metro market and state across the country. And, while some companies nationally are reporting layoffs, other companies are using these opportunities to quickly hire in areas of strategic need. The CompTIA analysis notes that about one in five tech job postings were for entry-level positions requiring two years or less of experience. Roughly half specified three to five years of work experience, and 13 percent sought candidates with nine or more years of experience. Nationally, software developers and engineers remain the most in demand, with employers posting 148,000 software-related jobs last month. Cybersecurity postings continued their rapid rise, and the market saw strong job growth across IT support specialists, IT project managers, systems engineers and architects and network engineers and architects. Positions in emerging technologies or jobs requiring emerging tech skills accounted for one-third of all postings in July. How does Indiana compare to the explosive national tech jobs market? Indiana continues to follow the national trends and stand out as a top rising tech job market. According to BLS data, Indiana experienced net new tech job growth of 2.2%. Indiana averaged a strong rate of 1.7% in 2021, and the July numbers show the Indiana tech sector growing at an even more vigorous pace. Indiana also followed national trends in setting a near record pace for active job postings in July, with 17,564 active tech postings. The five areas with the fastest growth included:
  1. Emerging Technology Specialists (e.g., Cloud, AI)
  2. Cybersecurity Analysts
  3. IT Support Specialists
  4. Systems Analysts
  5. Software Developers.
The top five technical skills being sought in job descriptions included:
  1. Programming
  2. Amazon Web Services
  3. Microsoft Azure
  4. Agile Programming
  5. Operating Systems.
The top five most sought professional skills were:
  1. Communication
  2. Leadership
  3. Problem solving
  4. Customer service
  5. Planning.
For talent, it is a great time to work in tech in Indiana. There are rich and rewarding opportunities available across roles and company types, and historic data suggests this pattern will continue even with inflationary pressures and potential economic downturns ahead. Just as nationally, the tech workforce in Indiana historically outperforms other sectors even in the face of real and perceived economic weakness. For employers, hiring challenges show no indication of relenting, though layoffs and hiring freezes at some employers will create opportunities for other firms. Mid-year hiring data show that Indiana organizations must innovate now and for the future to attract, develop, and retain the talent needed to fuel growth and innovation. Also, be sure to read TechPoint’s Q1 & Q2 2022 Jobs Report, based on data from our own Indiana tech jobs board. 1 The “CompTIA Tech Jobs Report” is available at https://www.CompTIA.org/content/tech-jobs-report.