Utah tech workforce grows in depth and breadth: CompTIA releases year in review State of the Tech Workforce report

5,100-plus net new jobs added in 2022, more growth projected for this year

SALT LAKE CITY, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Against the backdrop of an eventful year tech employment in Utah added new jobs and grew in depth and breadth, according to new research from CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce.

CompTIA's annual "State of the Tech Workforce" reveals that net tech employment¹ in Utah increased by 5,130 new jobs in 2022, a 4.3% growth rate that surpassed the 3.2% national figure.² CompTIA forecasts a 4.9% increase in tech employment for Utah this year – about 6,100 net new jobs.

More than 123,000 people work in tech in Utah, spanning both technical and non-technical workers employed by tech companies and tech professionals who work in other industries. That represents 7.2% of the state's workforce, the ninth highest percentage nationally. The median wage of $83,891 for a tech worker in Utah is 108% higher than the median wage for all occupations in the state.

Utah's tech industry has an economic impact of $21.8 billion – 10% of the state economy and the eighth highest percentage among all states. There are nearly 9,300 tech business establishments in the state.

CompTIA's "State of the Tech Workforce" is the most comprehensive source of data on the size and scope of the U.S. technology industry and workforce. The report includes data on employment, wages, business establishments, job postings, workforce diversity, emerging tech metrics and more. Among other highlights from the new report:

Occupations poised for growth – Positions in cybersecurity and systems engineering (8.3%) and software development, programming, web development and quality assurance (6.4%) are projected to see the most growth in Utah this year.

Emerging tech employment opportunities – 28% of all tech jobs postings in the state last year were for occupations related to emerging technologies or for positions that required emerging tech skills.

Workforce diversity – Utah is in the fourth quartile in the report's diversity index, a measurement of the depth and breadth of diversity in the tech workforce for seven primary race and ethnicity groups, as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women account for 22% of the state's workforce; Hispanic or Latino workers, 7%; and Black or African American workers, 1%.

The full report is available at https://www.cyberstates.org/.

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the world's leading information technology (IT) certification and training body. CompTIA is a mission-driven organization committed to unlocking the potential of every student, career changer or professional seeking to begin or advance in a technology career. Each year CompTIA, directly and through its global network of partners, provides millions of people with training, education and certification opportunities designed to help them build career-ready IT skills. To learn more visit https://www.comptia.org/

Media Contact
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
[email protected]
630.678.8468

¹The tech workforce consists of two primary components – technology professionals working in technical positions (IT support, network engineering, software development, data science, etc.) and business professionals employed by technology companies. Combined they are represented by the "net tech employment" designation.

² The 2022 employment estimates and 2023 projections represent the most up-to-date data at the time of publication. As with any labor market data source there is a lag effect, recent developments during late 2022 and early 2023 will likely not be fully reflected in the data.

SOURCE CompTIA