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U.S. technology employment was projected to grow heading into 2025, but the evidence does not show that every IT specialty was booming—or count how many people employers actually hired that year. CompTIA estimated 6,094,315 technology-occupation jobs for 2025 and projected 2.9% growth; separately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected 10.1% growth for the broader computer and mathematical occupations group over 2024–34. Those are different measures and time horizons, not a tally of 2025 hires.
What the outlook said—and what it did not
“Heading into 2025” is best understood as an outlook, not a report of completed hiring. The available figures cover projected employment, job postings and job-seeker survey responses. They do not establish how many IT workers employers hired during 2025.
For U.S. technology occupations, CompTIA estimated 6,094,315 jobs for 2025 and projected an increase of 174,628 jobs, or 2.9%. CompTIA said this was up from 1.2% growth in the prior year. This is CompTIA’s estimate and definition of technology occupations; it is not interchangeable with a federal occupational category.
The BLS’s August 2025 projections give a longer-range comparison: computer and mathematical occupations were projected to grow 10.1% from 2024 to 2034, compared with 3.1% for total U.S. employment over the same period. These are ten-year projections, not a forecast of 2025 openings. BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
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Which technology roles had stronger projected growth?
CompTIA’s 2025 estimates varied by category. The percentages below are CompTIA’s estimates for its groupings; they should not be read as BLS projections or compared directly with the 2024–34 BLS figures.
| CompTIA category | 2025 estimated growth |
|---|---|
| Data science, data analysis, database and machine learning | 4.0% |
| Software development, programming, web, QA and AI | 3.8% |
| CIOs, IT directors, managers | 3.0% |
| Cybersecurity, systems analysts, IT project management and other | 2.7% |
| Tech support, help desk and IT specialists | 1.8% |
| Networks, architects, cloud engineers and support | 1.6% |
The broad BLS outlook points to similar areas of interest but uses different categories and a different horizon. BLS cited continued development of AI solutions and more data available for analysis as factors supporting demand for data scientists. It also cited cyberattacks and breaches in discussing demand for information security analysts. BLS’s 2024–34 projections.
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Postings are not hires, and AI numbers need context
CompTIA reported 2,531,079 active U.S. employer postings for technology occupations in 2024. It also counted 346,068 postings requiring AI skills across all jobs in 2024—not only IT jobs. Both are posting counts, not completed hires, and the AI figure should not be described as a count of employers seeking AI specialists specifically.
The BLS cautioned that technology’s effects on occupations have historically tended to unfold gradually rather than suddenly. It also noted that technology can change the tasks within an occupation without changing total demand for that occupation. That is a general observation, not a precise prediction for any one IT title. The figures do not establish how many workers AI had replaced or whether a particular role is safe from change. BLS Employment Projections release, August 28, 2025.
What job seekers reported
CompTIA’s January 2025 survey offers a view of worker intentions, not employer demand. In the U.S. labor market, 27% of respondents said they had been pursuing a new job or career change in the preceding three months. Among job seekers, two-thirds explored opportunities in their current field, while 62% considered changing to a new field.
Job seekers ranked earning a technical, industry-recognized certification as their leading strategy when pursuing a technology career. That describes a reported strategy; it does not show that employers universally require certifications or that one guarantees a job. The survey’s phrasing—such as “pursuing a career in technology”—reflects respondent answers and is not evidence of search volume. CompTIA Job Seeker Trends, January 2025.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read conflicting IT job-market claims
Two headlines about “IT hiring” may sound contradictory because they count different things. Check these distinctions before using a figure to make a career or financial decision:
- Geography: The figures here are U.S.-focused; they do not establish a global outlook.
- Time horizon: CompTIA’s 2025 estimate and the BLS’s 2024–34 projection answer different questions.
- Measure: Projected jobs, active postings, survey responses and realized hires are not equivalent.
- Occupation definition: BLS computer and mathematical occupations and CompTIA technology-occupation categories are distinct groupings.
- Role detail: These sources do not resolve local conditions, seniority or narrow specializations sufficiently to infer prospects for a particular candidate.
For personal planning, use the broad projections as context rather than a promise of openings. A role’s prospects can depend on its specialty, location and seniority, details these aggregate figures do not settle. Likewise, a posting total can indicate recruiting activity without showing whether positions were filled.
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The BLS figures come from its August 28, 2025 Employment Projections release for 2024–34. CompTIA’s 2025 State of the Tech Workforce U.S. summary supplies its occupation estimates and 2024 posting counts; its Job Seeker Trends survey is the January 2025 wave. The available evidence does not provide actual realized IT hires for 2025, a globally comparable outlook, or sufficiently granular local and seniority-level comparisons.
BLS Employment Projections release · CompTIA State of the Tech Workforce · CompTIA Job Seeker Trends
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