SEATTLE, March 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Employment in Washington’s technology industry grew by an estimated 7,100 jobs in 2017 and the industry contributed $68.4 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 363,500 workers, Washington ranks 11^th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in net tech employment.¹ The Washington tech workforce makes up 9.9 percent of the state’s total workforce. The average tech industry wage in Washington is $141,650, compared to the state’s average private sector annual wage of $60,240.

The tech sector is responsible for an estimated 17.4 percent ($75.2 billion) of the overall economy in Washington, which is home to more than 14,000 tech business establishments.

Washington’s Cyberstates Innovation Score slipped to 10^th this year, down from 3^rd 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.

Washington saw a 16.6 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 telecommunications and Internet services (+ 6.5 percent); IT services and custom software services (+ 5 percent); and packaged software (+ 2.9 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 $1.5 trillion U.S. information 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