Washington-area job growth stands out in IT survey

The Washington, D.C., metro area led the nation in open IT jobs over a 12-month period, according to an industry survey.

The Washington region, which includes Northern Virginia, ranked No. 11 overall in CompTIA’s Tech Town Index 2019.

The index identifies the 20 metro areas with populations of more than 250,000 where demand for tech workers is greatest.

The metro areas are ranked by a number of factors including cost of living, number of jobs posted for IT positions and projected job growth over the next 12 months and five years.

Although ranked in the middle of the pack overall among the 20 metro areas, the Washington region stood out for posting 192,000 tech jobs over 12 months (August 2018 to July 2019). That number represents a 12.9% jump from last year’s survey when the area posted more than 170,000 jobs.

The number of Washington tech jobs is expected to grow by 4% in 2024. That increase likely will be influenced by the creation of Amazon’s East Coast headquarters in Arlington. HQ2 is expected to eventually employ 25,000 workers.

But while Washington was first in the Tech Town survey in total jobs created, the region lagged on other CompTIA criteria. It ranked 13^th in cost of living and 19^th in one-year and five-year job growth percentage.

The overall leader in the survey was Austin, Texas. The top 10 also included: Raleigh, North Carolina; San Jose, California; Seattle; San Francisco; Charlotte; Dallas; Atlanta; Denver; and Huntsville, Alabama.