Tech job openings in Triangle, NC climb for 2nd straight month

RALEIGH – Technology jobs have grown harder to come by in recent months as shown by N.C. employment data and reports from the NC Tech Association. But the new NC Tech IT Job Trends report indicates the drought may be ending.

July was overall a bad month for tech jobs in N.C. as pointed out by N.C. State economist Dr. Mike Walden in discussing an otherwise positive employment report on Friday. Even as the number of people working in N.C. hit another record high of more than 5 million, tech employment actually fell.

“Big gains were made in leisure/hospitality, government, and education/health services jobs as those sectors continue to recover workers lost during the pandemic,” Walden explained. “One downside was another drop in information employment [-1,000].”

But NC TECH said in its July report issued Monday that advertised openings across the state increased for the second straight time.

The tech sector has been hit by layoffs, the most recent being an 11% employee reduction at life science giant Biogen. But most publicly disclosed layoffs in N.C. have occurred in more traditional industries.

The monthly snapshot found 17,101 openings, a slight increase from June. However, after dipping to a low of just under 16,000 in February openings have not fallen below 16,300.

Openings surged year-over-year from record numbers in 2022 in Fayetteville, Wilmington and Rocky Mount.

Nearly 7,000 jobs were advertised in the Triangle, up from some 6,500 in June. But that new total is still far below 2022 totals.

Inside the numbers

So what’s happening?

“It is great to see the July numbers slightly above June, even if they are down from the record-breaking figures of 2022. They’re heading in the right direction,” said Andrea Fleming, Director, Talent + Workforce Development for NC TECH, in a statement about the report. “Of particular interest is the top ten tech hirers. The majority in the top ten continue to be non-tech companies. This speaks to the strength and diversity of the technology employment opportunities across the state.”

Fleming also noted that the organization’s polling of tech execs across the state found optimism for growth and hiring.

“NC TECH conducts a Quarterly Pulse Survey with leadership across the state,” Fleming continued. “The second quarter results showed a surprising amount of optimism for the economy with 65% responding they expect their business to grow, and to hire in the next quarter. We’ll have to wait and see, but that is another area of positive news for tech employment.”

Bolstering the positive news: TechWire’s exclusive Top 50 list of companies in the Triangle found last week that all 50 are hiring.

Plus, overall job openings are increasing.

For the full report, read it online here.