The tech industry is in its best state since 2001, according to figures from TechAmerica Foundation analysts.
Before the bubble burst, and payrolls shrank dramatically, the tech industry employed 6.5 million people. In 2014 we are just 200,000 jobs shy of equalling that figure.
Tech industry employment reached 6.3 million in the first half of this year, a gain of 118,800 jobs, up 1.9 percent compared to the first half of 2013.
Oddly that is below the 3.7 percent growth rate overall for private-sector employers and the weaker rate of growth is an anomaly for the industry.
Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of technology industry trade group CompTIA, which bought TechAmerica, said that the tech industry often experiences a better employment situation than the private sector.
In 2011 and 2012, the tech industry outgrew the overall private sector. In 2009, while the private sector saw employment fall by 5.5 percent. The employment decline in the tech industry was slightly lower at 4.5 percent.
Some of the slowing down of growth might be due to the fact that some big names like HP and Microsoft have been cutting back, and in the first half of this year there were nearly 50,000 tech industry layoffs.
Safer areas to work have been R&D, testing and engineering services, which saw 54,100 new jobs. IT services was next, with a gain of 36,000 jobs.
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing saw employment rose from 156,000 jobs in January 2013 to 166,000 in June 2014.
Apparently, the tech industry is one of the best-paying sectors of the economy. The average annual salary for a tech industry employee is $93,000, compared to $47,400 for the private sector.
