Software Jobs Growing Significantly Beyond Silicon Valley And The Tech Industry Over Past Five Years, According To Glassdoor Jobs Study

MILL VALLEY, Calif., July 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In the past five years, software engineer jobs and other related tech roles have dispersed beyond the hubs of Silicon Valley and the technology industry into a wide variety of industries and cities around the country, according to a new report from Glassdoor, the fastest growing and second largest job site in the United States¹. As more employers today need to recruit tech talent, industries like retail, banking and financial services, and manufacturing have seen their share of software-related jobs rise since 2012. San Jose, Calif. – the center of Silicon Valley – has seen its share of software-related jobs decline, while Seattle, Washington, D.C., Detroit and other up-and-coming tech hubs have seen the share of software jobs grow since 2012.

The Glassdoor study is based on all active, unique job listings on Glassdoor for U.S. employers with "software" in the job title on the respective days of June 1, 2012 and June 1, 2017. This includes roles like software engineer, software developer, software engineering manager and many others. To understand the change in the share of software-related jobs, the study looked at a sample of industries and metro areas with at least 100 open software-related jobs on Glassdoor in each year, respectively.

"Companies across a wide range of industries and locations increasingly need to recruit tech talent to power their businesses, improve operations and support bottom line growth. Many companies today have online and mobile presences, and thanks to Glassdoor's vast jobs database we have observed a big exodus of tech jobs out of the sectors and geographical hubs we traditionally think of as 'tech,'" said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor chief economist.

Retail Industry Saw Biggest Spike in Software Jobs

With the shift to online shopping, the retail industry has seen its share of software-related jobs expand the most in the past five years, from 6.4 percent in 2012 to 13.9 percent in 2017 – a 7.5 percentage point change. Employers like Amazon and Walmart are fueling this change as retail purchasing shifts from brick and mortar stores to online, Chamberlain added.

Though the banking and financial services industry and the manufacturing industry hold a relatively small share of all software-related jobs, they have seen some of the largest gains from 2012 to today. Banking and financial services saw a 2.0 percentage point change, from a 2.4 percent share in 2012 to 4.4 percent share in 2017. Manufacturing grew from 4.5 percent to 6.1 percent, a 1.7 percentage point change.

The industry with the biggest loss was the computer software and hardware industry, with a 10.5 percentage point loss in share of software job postings in the past five years, from 35.5 percent in 2012 to 25.0 percent in 2017. While the total number of open software jobs in the computer software and hardware industry has been relatively steady, its share has eroded as other industries have hired more software talent, Chamberlain said.

More Tech Workers Moving Out of Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is known as a global tech hub but that has changed in the past five years, according to Glassdoor's jobs data. San Jose, Calif. has seen its share of software-related jobs shrink 7.7 percentage points since 2012, down from 15.8 percent, to 8.1 percent. More software-related jobs are opening in cities like Seattle, Washington, D.C., Detroit, and Austin, Texas among others. Seattle – home to retail giant Amazon, Zillow and others – has seen the largest growth. Its share of software jobs has grown from 10.2 percent in 2012 to 16.9 percent today, a 6.7 percentage point change. With a tight labor market, and growing wages, Seattle as a tech hub is on the map.

To learn more about this study, visit the Glassdoor Economic Research blog.

To speak with Dr. Chamberlain regarding this research and/or labor market and hiring trends: [email protected].

About Glassdoor
Glassdoor is one of the largest and fastest growing job sites in the world today. Set apart by the tens of millions of reviews and insights provided by employees and candidates, Glassdoor combines all the jobs with this valuable data to make it easy for people to find a job that is uniquely right for them. As a result, Glassdoor helps employers hire truly informed candidates at scale through effective recruiting solutions like job advertising and employer branding products. Launched in 2008, Glassdoor now has reviews and insights for approximately 700,000 companies in more than 190 countries. For labor market trends and analysis, visit Glassdoor Economic Research. For company news and career advice and tips, visit the Glassdoor Blog and for employer-related news and insights to help employers hire, visit the Glassdoor for Employers Blog. Visit Glassdoor.com or download our apps on iOS and Android platforms.

Glassdoor® is a registered trademark of Glassdoor, Inc.

SOURCE Glassdoor, Inc.

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