MINNEAPOLIS, March 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Employment in Minnesota’s technology industry expanded by an estimated 3,500 jobs in 2017 and contributed $27.9 billion to the state’s economy, according to Cyberstates™ 2018, the definitive annual analysis of the nation’s tech industry published today by CompTIA, the world’s leading technology industry association.

With 250,500 workers, Minnesota ranks 17th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in net tech employment.¹ This accounts for 8 percent of the state’s total workforce. The average tech industry wage in Minnesota is $97,680, compared to the state’s average private sector annual wage of $55,390.

The tech sector is responsible for an estimated 8.6 percent ($27.9 billion) of the overall state economy. The state is home to some 9,506 tech business establishments.

Minnesota ranked 17th in Cyberstates Innovation Score in 2017. This ranking is based on a state-by-state per capita analysis of tech startups/new tech business formations + venture capital.

The state also saw a 56.2 percent jump in the number of job postings related to emerging technologies – such as the Internet of Things, smart cities, drones, artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality and augmented reality, and blockchain. In total, Minnesota employers posted 68,740 jobs for technology positions last year.

Leading tech occupations in Minnesota include software and web developers (27,250 positions, up 1.7 percent last year), computer system and information security analysts (19,490 jobs, up 2.8 percent) and network architects, administrators, and support specialists (17,520 jobs, up 1.5 percent).

The strongest year-over-year job growth occurred in the categories of IT services and custom software services (+ 3.6 percent) and R&D, testing, and engineering services (+ 2.8 percent).

Cyberstates 2018 (#cyberstates) is based on CompTIA’s analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, EMSI, Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insights, and other sources. Estimates for 2017 are subject to change as government data is revised and updated. The complete Cyberstates 2018 report, with complete national, state and metropolitan level data, is available at http://cyberstates.org/

¹ Net tech employment includes tech industry workers in technical and non-technical positions, technical workers in other industries and self-employed technology workers.

About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $4.8 trillion global technology ecosystem; and the more than seven million technology professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the U.S. economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce. Visit www.comptia.org to learn more.

Contact:
Preston Grisham
CompTIA                                                                    
pgrisham@comptia.org 
202-682-4458                                                             

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SOURCE CompTIA