Florida tech workforce grows in depth and breadth: CompTIA releases year in review State of the Tech Workforce report

22,000-plus net new jobs added in 2022, more growth projected for this year

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Against the backdrop of an eventful year, tech employment in Florida added new jobs and grew in depth and breadth, according to today's release of new research from CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the information technology (IT) industry and workforce.

CompTIA's annual "State of the Tech Workforce" reveals that net tech employment¹ in Florida grew by 4.8% in 2022, well above the national figure of 3.2%. The number of people employed in technology in Florida increased by an estimated 22,029 workers, the third highest total nationally.² CompTIA forecasts a 3.5% increase in tech employment for 2023 – about 17,000 net new jobs in the state.

Nearly 485,000 people work in tech jobs in Florida, spanning both technical and non-technical workers employed by tech companies and tech professionals who work in other industries. That represents 4.9% of the overall state workforce. Florida's tech workforce ranks fourth in size nationally. The estimated median wage for a tech worker in Florida is $81,533. That's 113% higher than the median wage for all occupations in the state.

Florida's tech industry delivers an economic impact of $79.9 billion, or 6.4% of the state economy. There are an estimated 38,796 tech business establishments in the state, including 2,733 that opened in 2022, the highest total in the country.

CompTIA's "State of the Tech Workforce" is the most comprehensive source of data on the size and scope of the U.S. technology industry and workforce. The report includes data on employment, wages, business establishments, job postings, workforce diversity, emerging tech metrics and more. Among other highlights from the new report:

Occupations poised for growth – Positions in software development, programming, web development and quality assurance (5.4%); database, data science and analytics (4.8%); and emerging technologies, IT project management and related areas (4.6%) are projected to see the most growth in Florida this year.

Emerging tech employment opportunities – 24% of all tech jobs postings in the state last year were for occupations related to emerging technologies or for positions that required emerging tech skills.

Workforce diversity – Florida is in the first quartile in the report's diversity index, a measurement of the depth and breadth of diversity in the tech workforce for seven primary race and ethnicity groups, as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women account for 27% of the state's workforce; Hispanic or Latino workers, 17% (the second highest percentage nationally); and African American workers, 11%.

Access the full report at https://www.cyberstates.org/.

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the world's leading information technology (IT) certification and training body. CompTIA is a mission-driven organization committed to unlocking the potential of every student, career changer or professional seeking to begin or advance in a technology career. Each year CompTIA, directly and through its global network of partners, provides millions of people with training, education and certification opportunities designed to help them build career-ready IT skills. To learn more visit https://www.comptia.org/

Media Contact
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
[email protected]
630.678.8468

¹The tech workforce consists of two primary components – technology professionals working in technical positions (IT support, network engineering, software development, data science, etc.) and business professionals employed by technology companies. Combined they are represented by the "net tech employment" designation.

²The 2022 employment estimates and 2023 projections represent the most up-to-date data at the time of publication. As with any labor market data source there is a lag effect, recent developments during late 2022 and early 2023 will likely not be fully reflected in the data.

SOURCE CompTIA