Employment in the U.S. information technology (IT) sector rebounded in June, adding a net 32,100 new jobs, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by CompTIA.
IT sector employment was estimated at 4,389,600 jobs as of June 30. Last month’s gains more than offset the employment decline the sector experienced in May.
“The IT sector grew at a faster rate than overall national employment,” said Tim Herbert, senior vice president, research and market analysis, CompTIA. “Information technology continues to be a vital driver of growth and jobs in the U.S. economy.”
All categories within the IT sector – with the exception of tech manufacturing – recorded positive job growth in June. Telecommunications led the way, adding 28,100 jobs. Most of that total was due to the return to work of Verizon employees who had been on strike.
Gains were also reported in June in other information services, including search portals (up 2,500 jobs); data processing, hosting and related services (up 2,200 jobs); and IT software and services and computer systems design (up 1,400 jobs).
Computer and electronic products manufacturing lost 2,100 jobs in June.
“For the first six months of 2016, the IT sector has added 43,900 net new jobs, with the IT services category accounting for 90 percent of those gains,” Herbert said.
The IT workforce includes two components: employment within the IT sector and IT occupations across all other industries. IT occupation employment gained 74,000 net jobs in June, reversing two months of decline, and stood at an estimated 4.526 million at the end of the month.
The number of IT occupation job postings in June was up modestly from the previous month, with software developer positions topping the list by a wide margin.
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