Press Releases

Georgia Technology Industry Added 6,600 Workers in 2016

Apr 3, 2017

CompTIA Cyberstates 2017™ finds state ranks 12th in tech employment, 19th in innovation


Atlanta – Georgia’s technology industry employment grew by an estimated 3.3 percent in 2016, as employers added 6,600 new jobs, according to Cyberstates 2017™, the definitive annual analysis of the nation’s tech industry released today by CompTIA, the world’s leading technology association.

With an estimated 207,865 workers, Georgia ranks 12th among the 50 states for tech industry employment. About 155,500 workers are in the Atlanta metro area.

Technology occupations across all other industries in Georgia – the second component of the tech workforce – reached an estimated 219,600 in 2016.

The tech sector accounts for an estimated 8 percent ($39.7 billion) of the overall Georgia economy.

The annualized average wage for a Georgia tech industry worker was an estimated $94,900 in 2016, 89 percent higher than the average state wage ($50,100). Georgia ranks 19th nationally in average tech industry wages.

Other Key Findings

  • Georgia ranks 19th among all states in the Cyberstates 2017 Innovation Score, which is based on an analysis of new tech patents, tech startups and new tech business establishments on a per capita basis.
  • The state is home to an estimated 18,293 tech business establishments. About 11,700 of those business are located in the greater Atlanta area.
  • The tech industry employs an estimated 4.9 percent of the overall state workforce.
  • Leading tech occupations include application software developers (24,560), computer user support specialists (23,370) and computer systems analysts (17,330).
  • The strongest year-over-year job growth occurred in the categories of Internet services (+ 11.9 percent), packaged software (+ 5.8 percent) and computer systems design and IT services (+ 5.2 percent).
  • Employers posted nearly 23,000 job openings for tech occupations in Q4 2016.

“The Cyberstates data affirms the strength and vitality of Georgia’s tech industry, and attests to its essential standing in the economy,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO, CompTIA. “Technology enables innovation and generates growth for companies, regardless of their size, locale or markets served.”

Cyberstates 2017 is based on CompTIA’s analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, EMSI, and other sources. Estimates for 2016 are subject to change as government data is revised and updated. The complete report with full national, state and metropolitan level data is available at http://www.cyberstates.org/.

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The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is the world's leading technology association, with approximately 2,000 member companies, 3,000 academic and training partners, over 100,000 registered users and more than two million IT certifications issued. CompTIA's unparalleled range of programs foster workforce skills development and generate critical knowledge and insight – building the foundation for technology’s future. Visit CompTIA online, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more. 

Contact:

Preston Grisham
CompTIA
[email protected]
(202) 862-4458

Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
[email protected]
(630) 678-8468