The demand for tech employees in South Florida showed no signs of abating in the second quarter.
There was a 29% increase of tech job postings in the tri-county area between the first and second quarters of this year, according to a CompTIA analysis of Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insights data. There were 14,084 total postings for tech and innovation positions in the region at the end of June, up from 10,945 in late March.
The Miami area led the state for tech job advertisements. Tampa came in second, with 11,660 new tech postings in the second quarter (up 19%), followed by Orlando (6,665; up 20%) and Jacksonville (4,730; up 20%).
Dozens of tech startups and venture capital firms made moves to South Florida during the Covid-19 pandemic, citing the region's lower taxes and business-friendly regulations as a draw. The CompTIA data demonstrates those businesses aren't just opening offices; they're also creating new jobs.
Still, South Florida was far from the only metropolitan area to have a surge in new tech job postings.
In total, 58% of the nation’s largest metro areas posted at least a 20% increase in tech job postings between the first and second quarters. Only 10 of the 148 metros in the analysis had fewer postings compared to the first quarter, which was also a strong quarter for tech hiring.
Overall, tech job postings increased by 117,022 in those 148 metro areas, with the average metro recording a 25% increase.
The analysis further illustrates the intense demand for tech workers, which has employers raising wages, offering bonuses and work-from-home flexibility and looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the pack.
Among the regions with a high concentration of tech talent, the Sun Belt continues to set the pace for growth.
Miami (29%), Phoenix (26%), Austin, Texas (25%), Dallas (24%), Denver (20%) and Atlanta (20%) had the strongest growth among metros with at least 10,000 tech job postings.
New York had 19.6% growth and added the highest raw number of job postings (9,465).
Silicon Valley added 3,370 tech job postings in the second quarter, which translates to 13% growth.
Tim Herbert, executive vice president for research and market intelligence at CompTIA, said the data shows there is still pent-up demand for tech talent — even if the data in June wasn’t as robust as it was in recent months.
“The net of it is we see momentum, and we expect that momentum to continue based on the overarching need for technology,” Herbert said.
Herbert said certain fields, such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, are likely to be even stronger.
Overall, tech firms added 80,600 workers in the first half of 2021. But the demand for tech jobs isn't limited to tech firms alone — as many other companies have been ramping up hiring of workers with tech skills.
Additionally, Herbert said technology hiring is often a leading indicator, suggesting the robust national job market and intense competition for talent across a range of industries could continue in the months to come.
Herbert said the data shows broad-based growth across different technology sectors and geographic areas — including smaller and midmarket regions outside of existing tech hubs.
On a percentage growth basis, a trio of Alabama markets took three of the top four spots: Montgomery (78% growth), Mobile (72% growth) and Birmingham (72% growth).
Birmingham was the only metro among the nation’s 50 largest to appear in the top 10 for percentage growth. The city is home to Target Corp.’s delivery service Shipt and will soon be the headquarters of Landing, an apartment rental company that recently unveiled plans to hire more than 800 workers and move its headquarters to Birmingham from San Francisco.
The Alabama markets were joined in the top five by Carson City, Nevada, (76% growth), and Dover, Delaware (65% growth).
Among larger metros, Las Vegas (31%), Nashville, Tennessee, (31%), Tulsa, Oklahoma, (31%) and New Orleans (30%) also posted strong growth.
At the other end of the spectrum, Durham, North Carolina (8% decline), Seattle (3% decline) and Raleigh, North Carolina (down 1%) posted declines among large metros.
Additionally, several California markets — including Santa Rosa (down 23%), Stockton (down 1%), San Francisco (0.3% increase) and Los Angeles (6% increase) — were at the bottom of the pack for percentage growth.
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