AUSTIN, Texas, March 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Employment in Texas’ technology industry grew by an estimated 7,610 jobs in 2017 and the industry contributed $125.5 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 963,400 workers, Texas ranks 2^nd among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in net tech employment.¹ The Texas tech workforce makes up 7.2 percent of the state’s total workforce. The average tech industry wage in Texas is $106,300, compared to the state’s average private sector annual wage of $55,140.

The tech sector is responsible for an estimated 8.7 percent ($136.9 billion) of the overall economy in Texas, which is home to more than 37,700 tech business establishments.

Texas saw its Cyberstates Innovation Score climb to 4^th this year, up from 16^th a year ago. This ranking is based on a state-by-state per capita analysis of new tech patents awarded, tech startups and new tech business establishments.

Texas saw a 41.4 percent increase from 2016 to 2017 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. While these positions accounted for only about 10 percent of total tech job postings, they are an indicator of where organizations are headed with the technology investments.

The strongest year-over-year job growth occurred in the categories of IT services and custom software services (+ 4.3 percent) and packaged software (+ 3 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 information technology ecosystem; and the technology professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the global 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:
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
sostrowski@comptia.org
630-678-8468

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SOURCE CompTIA