It’s become a cliché, but still rings true: 2016 was yet another milestone year for the U.S. tech industry. Employment rose nearly 3 percent, according to CompTIA’s Cyberstates 2017 report, our annual comprehensive analysis of the nation’s tech industry. IT sector hiring accounted for approximately 10 percent of all jobs added to the U.S. economy last year.
Even with a net gain of 182,000-plus jobs, U.S. employers posted job openings for more than 626,000 core technology positions during the fourth quarter of 2016.
As the tech sector continues to mature, regional differences have become more pronounced, but some industry trends ignore geographic boundaries. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the report: