Tech Jobless Rate Falls to 2.5%, Steepest Month-to-Month Drop in Four Years

The unemployment rate in the U.S. technology sector fell to 2.5% in September from 3.4% in August, marking the biggest month-to-month drop seen in the tech sector in four years.

The new numbers were revealed in the latest monthly U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs report, which found that overall tech industry employment rose by 8,583 net new positions for September.

A CompTIA analysis of the tech sector jobs data from the September BLS report found that the increased tech hiring came mostly in the areas of cloud infrastructure, data processing and hosting, as well as in tech services and custom software development, according to the information technology (IT) certification and training group.

The BLS report showed that tech job employment increased by 118,000 new positions, which pushed the tech unemployment rate down to 2.5%, well below the national unemployment rate, according to CompTIA.

For the overall economy, the latest jobs report is good news, but “risks still remain,” MJ Shoer, the chief community officer of CompTIA told ChannelE2E. “The upcoming election and global conflicts have the potential to throw a wrench into any positive reports over the next 30 days or more. Overall, as it relates to the tech sector, I think it is safe to say this is a positive report and reflects underlying optimism in our economy.”

For MSPs, the latest BLS tech job numbers can also be positive, but it depends, said Shoer.

“Yes, because this shows underlying confidence to move forward with tech hiring,” he said. “No, because it will increase demand for skilled workers in an already tight labor sector. MSPs will need to be creative in how they find and hire the right candidates.”

Overall, CompTIA believes that there are very strong opportunities for MSPs based on the latest BLS jobs data, said Shoer. “Organizations will not be able to hire all the positions they have open, so there will be ongoing opportunities to supplement internal staff in those organizations with external IT teams. The opportunity may be strongest in small and mid-size organizations with limited or no internal IT. That remains one of the more active segments of opportunity for MSPs, as it has been historically.”

Other Impressive Possibilities in the BLS Jobs Report

Shoer said that the positive BLS jobs report numbers for September could mean that companies are ramping up or restarting growth-oriented projects, based on past trends. “Companies waiting for a degree of economic clarity may be feeling more confident about investing for the future,” he said.  “For MSPs this may present an opportunity to capture new business and/or boost business with existing customers.”

CompTIA’s research shows that C-suite executives “continue to be intently ROI focused, expecting maximum value from their technology investments while avoiding projects with uncertain outcomes,” said Shoer. “MSPs best able to align their services with value creation will be best positioned to capitalize on the current momentum.”

CompTIA also reported that employer job postings for future tech hiring climbed for the second consecutive month, to more than 516,000 active postings, including 225,000 new listings added in September. The largest increase in job openings was at 14% for tech support specialists and database administrators.