Despite layoffs at some of the Seattle area's largest companies, it's not all doom and gloom for the region's tech sector.
According to a Wednesday report from the IT training organization CompTIA, Washington had a net gain of 17,962 tech jobs last year, which was the fifth-highest among U.S. states. The report, called State of the Tech Workforce, noted Washington has 347,093 total tech jobs, which includes both non-tech jobs at tech companies and tech jobs at non-tech companies, good enough for sixth-most in the country.
"All states and the District of Columbia experienced job gains in net tech employment from 2021 to 2022," the report read. "While the largest job gains are associated with the states with a significant tech presence, the fact that most states experienced tech employment job gains speaks to the continued broad-based impact of technology across the nation."
Washington's tech sector has an economic impact of $138.7 billion, according to the report. CompTIA also notes 9.4% of all workers in the state work in tech, the highest concentration in the country. The organization projects the state to gain 13,494 tech jobs this year, a 3.9% increase.
Texas added the most tech jobs last year with a net gain of 45,331. California, Florida and New York followed Texas among states with the biggest net gain.
Washington's job gains are jeopardized by the steep cuts some of the Seattle area's largest tech companies have made in recent months. Redmond-based tech giant Microsoft is laying off about 10,000 workers, including more than 2,700 in the Seattle area. Amazon, meanwhile, is laying off more than 18,000 employees this year, including 2,300 in the Seattle area.
Speaking of the Seattle area, it gained 13,438 tech jobs last year, good enough for third among U.S. metros, according to the report, following only New York City (18,420) and Dallas (14,010). The Seattle area has 289,325 total tech workers, which makes up 12.9% of the overall workforce. The report projects the region will add 10,431 tech jobs this year.
