Dive Brief:

• IT sector employment grew by 8,400 jobs in June, according to CompTIA’s analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Situation released Friday. For the year, IT sector employment has expanded by an estimated 61,900 jobs, CompTIA reports.

• Growth was led by positions in IT and software services and computer system design, which grew by 4,900 jobs. The only category with a decline was telecommunications, which shed 700 jobs. For the year, telecom is down an estimated 43,800 jobs, according to CompTIA.

• IT sector jobs grew more than jobs in manufacturing, retail and transportation but less than industries such as construction, healthcare, and accommodation and food services.

Dive Insight:

It’s certainly good news on the tech employment front, and not surprising given tech’s expansion into just about every facet of business. But the telecom sector has stagnated and shifted in the U.S., contributing to the sector's job decline.

Telecom companies like Verizon and CenturyLink have been adjusting their business models in response. CenturyLink recently sold its cloud data centers and Verizon purchased Yahoo's core internet business. As those companies pivot under a shifting business and tech landscape, some jobs become irrelevant. On the other hand, new types of tech are still emerging and creating high demand for IT workers in nearly all of the tech job categories.

While recent layoffs by Microsoft and Cisco make headlines, those job losses are more about changing tech company priorities. As businesses evolve, they may shed workers in legacy areas at the same time they increase hiring in newer, hotter areas of tech.

​Overall, IT has experienced 12% job growth since 2012, the fastest job growth of any industry, having added about 472,000 jobs since 2012, according to analysis by CareerBuilder and labor market data provider Emsi.