Dive Brief:
- Unemployment among IT professions reached 3.7% in June, up from 2.5% in the previous month, according to a CompTIA review of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data published Friday. The rate is the highest it's been since August 2020, when it reached 4.6%.
- Other key indicators in the tech labor market also showed signs of flagging demand. Across the economy, tech occupations fell by 22,000 positions, and job postings decreased slightly month-over-month.
- By contrast, tech industry companies added 7,540 net new workers last month, marking the largest monthly increase so far this year, according to CompTIA.
Dive Insight:
Less than half a percentage point separated national and technologist unemployment rates in June. The gap between the two has been slowly shrinking for the last four years.
A mix of factors, including the widespread rush toward AI, is leading some employers to delay their tech hiring plans, according to Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA.
IT unemployment rose in June, reaching 2020 levels
"The recent data indicates a degree of downward pressure on tech employment,“ Herbert said in a press release.
A similar jolt occurred in February, when IT unemployment rose to 3.5%. At the time, CompTIA identified delays in employment data reporting as a contributing factor, especially as the year kicked off with tens of thousands of layoffs in the technology industry.
The June increase comes as the overall job market is showing clear signs of cooling, according to Nick Bunker, economic research director for North America for Indeed's Hiring Lab.
In terms of possible contributing factors for the June spike, "the most likely candidate is weak demand for tech workers," Bunker said in an email. "Tech workers who are out of a job are having a hard time finding new work."
Job postings on Indeed for software development positions have dipped by more than 30% compared to the pre-pandemic level, according to Bunker.
