The state of Washington had the third-highest percentage increase in tech jobs from December 2019 to December 2021, according to a new report from the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA).
The report, released Tuesday, found Washington had a 6.6% increase in tech jobs over the two-year period, which coincided with the onset of the pandemic and widespread shift to remote work. The state trailed only Tennessee (7.6%) and Idaho (7.5%).
In an executive summary, TECNA noted remote work is complicating which areas benefit from job growth.
"Jobs opened by companies in one city are now being filled by employees in another city with no relocation," the summary read. "The positive economic impact of a tech company is no longer concentrated to the city in which the company operates. Furthermore, talent poaching has been a common strategy for most technology employers because demand for tech talent far exceeds supply."
TECNA represents about 60 IT and tech trade organizations, including the Washington Technology Industry Association. The WTIA was an in-part sponsor of the report.
Utah and North Carolina rounded out the top five states by percentage growth in tech jobs over the two-year period, with gains of 5.3% and 4.9%, respectively.
Among states in the top half of tech worker growth rates, the report found Washington was tied for the fifth-highest gender gap at 44%, meaning there was a 44-point difference between the percentage of female tech workers and the percentage of male tech workers. Utah had the highest gender gap at 60%.
TECNA got data for the report from the labor market data visualization company eImpact, according to TECNA, and it included more than 27,000 data points.
"Through this report, we aim to provide local, state, and federal government policymakers with the key insights needed to inform decisions that will positively impact their local communities and grow the technology economy and workforce across North America," Jennifer Grundy Young, CEO of TECNA, said in a news release.
