RICHMOND, Va., March 27, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Employment in Virginia’s technology industry expanded by an estimated 1,460 jobs in 2017 and the industry contributed $53.9 billion to the commonwealth’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 425,300 workers, Virginia ranks 6^th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in net tech employment.¹ This accounts for 9.9 percent of the state’s total workforce. The average tech industry wage in Virginia is $114,770, compared to the state’s average private sector annual wage of $55,730.

The tech sector is responsible for an estimated 12.8 percent ($57.3 billion) of the overall economy in Virginia, which is home to some 21,410 tech business establishments.

Virginia’s Cyberstates Innovation Score places the state 7^th, down from 6^th last year. This ranking is based on a state-by-state per capita analysis of new tech patents awarded, tech startups and new tech business establishments.

Virginia saw a 19.8 percent jump 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 a small percentage of total tech job postings, it’s an indicator of where organizations are headed with the technology investments.

The strongest year-over-year job growth occurred in the category of IT services and custom software services (+ 2.3 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