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CompTIA Cyberstates™ 2018 finds Illinois ranks 5th in tech employment

Downers Grove, Ill. – Employment in Illinois’s technology industry expanded by an estimated 4,040 jobs in 2017 and contributed $48.7 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 437,200 workers, Illinois ranks 5th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in net tech employment.[1] This accounts for 6.8 percent of the state’s total workforce. The average tech industry wage in Illinois is $100,580, compared to the state’s average private sector annual wage of $57,360.

“We are pleased to see expansion and growth in Illinois’ technology industry,” said Kirk Lonbom, State of Illinois CIO and Acting Secretary for the Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT). “Under Governor Rauner’s leadership, the State of Illinois is modernizing technology to improve service delivery and grow our state’s digital economy. We are placing an emphasis on innovative areas such as blockchain, IoT, artificial intelligence and smart state initiatives, so it is exciting to see increases in emerging technology opportunities in Illinois.”

The tech sector is responsible for an estimated 6.7 percent ($48.7 billion) of the overall state economy. The state is home to some 24,834 tech business establishments.

Illinois ranks 6th in its Cyberstates Innovation Score in 2017. This ranking is based on a state-by-state per capita analysis of tech startups/new tech business formations + venture capital.

The state also saw a 30.2 percent jump 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.

In total, Illinois employers posted 122,730 jobs for technology positions last year.

Leading tech occupations in Illinois include software and web developers (44,900 positions, up 2.0 percent last year), computer system and information security analysts (34,350 jobs, up 2.7 percent) and network architects, administrators., and support specialists (29,660 jobs, up 0.7 percent).

The strongest year-over-year job growth occurred in the categories of software (packaged) (+ 8.6 percent) and IT services and custom software services (+ 3.6 percent).

Cyberstates 2018 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/

About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $4.8 trillion global 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.

Contacts:
Preston Grisham                                                       
CompTIA
pgrisham@comptia.org
202-682-4458

Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
sostrowski@comptia.org
630-678-8468