Minnesota trails behind other states in job growth and employment diversity in the technology sector, according to a new report.
While the technology industry does contribute to a strong economy in Minnesota, the sector still falls short when measured against others in the nation in anticipated and recent job growth as well as diverse representation, according to a recently published report by the Minnesota Technology Association (MnTech.)
Published this week, the State of Tech Talent report is the first-ever by MnTech, one of the state’s most well-established technology organizations. MnTech said it opted to create the report after hearing from its member companies on how they're struggling to secure tech talent in the local landscape, the report explains.
Minnesota's tech sector accounts for 8.1% of the economy overall, with an estimated impact of $29.1 billion. And wages for those in the tech sector are high at an estimated median wage of $94,715, 106% greater than the median state wage in Minnesota, the report says.
Outside of Minnesota, the tech sector and its workforce have seen some setbacks recently, with mass layoffs occurring at large companies like Meta and Twitter. Globally, over 71,000 tech employees were laid off during the fourth quarter of 2022 – a figure higher than those laid off at the start of the pandemic, according to Layoffs.fyi. Layoffs have hit locally, too, when Code42 said in November that it eliminated about 15% of its workforce.
But the Minnesota Technology Association's report is focused on the long-term outlook of the tech sector in Minnesota, beyond recent layoffs or hiring freezes, CEO and President of the Minnesota Technology Association Jeff Tollefson said in an interview.That view is to ensure that "we use this as an opportunity to build the pipeline needed for three, five, 10 years from now."
Minnesota lands in the 46th spot when measuring projected net job growth compared to other states, which the report says is in part due to a lack of talent or workers to fill open roles. Since the pandemic began, Minnesota’s growth in tech workers ranked 38th in the U.S., with neighboring states like Wisconsin, Iowa and South Dakota ranking above.
Examples of IT jobs in the report include software developers, computer network architects and computer user support specialists.
On diversity, Minnesota falls into the bottom half of the U.S. states for representative diversity in tech, the report shows.
Just 2.2% of those in the IT workforce in Minnesota are Hispanic or Latino, compared to 5% of the workforce overall, and only 3.8% are Black or African American, compared to 5.8% overall. About 22% of the IT workforce in Minnesota are female, the report noted.
Issues around education play a role, the report shows. The state ranks last among all states in its percentage of high schools providing computer science courses. And IT jobs in Minnesota are particularly strict when it comes to securing a bachelor’s degree, with 89% of such postings in the Twin Cities metro in the past year requiring that level of education.
