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5/10/2023 9:00:00 AM
Tim O'Neill
May is Tech Month across Minnesota, which highlights the importance of the state's Information Technology (IT) workforce. This is especially so in the Twin Cities Metro Area, where a high share of Minnesota's IT jobs are located. For the purposes of this post, we'll be looking strictly at Computer & Mathematical Occupations, which are those specific occupations most associated with IT.
According to the DEED's Job Vacancy Survey (JVS), employers across the Metro Area reported just over 3,800 Computer & Mathematical job openings in 2022. While down from nearly 5,800 such job vacancies in 2021, the 3,800 IT job vacancies are the second highest reported in the region over the past decade (see Figure 1).
As previously mentioned, the Metro Area accounts for a high share of Minnesota's IT jobs. While the region's employers reported just over half (53.3%) of the state's total job vacancies in 2022, it held six-out-of-seven (86.0%) Computer & Mathematical job vacancies (see Table 1).
| Table 1. Metro Area Computer and Mathematical Occupations Job Vacancies, 2022 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Occupational Title | Number of Job Vacancies | Job Vacancy Rate | Median Wage Offer | Part Time Share | Req. Post-Secondary Education | Req. Related Work Experience |
| Total, All Occupations | 98,330 | 6.0 | $19.96 | 36 | 38 | 16 |
| Computer & Mathematical Occupations | 3,821 | 4.6 | $42.59 | 16 | 74 | 64 |
| Software Developers | 1,894 | 5.9 | $43.42 | 16 | 70 | 70 |
| Computer User Support Specialists | 435 | 5.1 | $36.44 | 6 | 60 | 38 |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 291 | 2.3 | $41.54 | 22 | 82 | 67 |
| Computer & Information Systems Managers | 208 | 2.6 | $51.89 | 15 | 81 | 87 |
| Network & Computer Systems Administrators | 205 | 5.4 | $43.53 | 12 | 81 | 78 |
| Web & Digital Interface Designers | 159 | 12.3 | $49.16 | 6 | 92 | 72 |
| Information Security Analysts | 158 | 7.2 | $41.59 | 31 | 67 | 67 |
| Operations Research Analysts | 111 | 5.6 | $38.28 | 19 | 84 | 47 |
| Data Scientists | 87 | 7.0 | $43.50 | 17 | 91 | 64 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts & Testers | 81 | 4.7 | $45.69 | 17 | 85 | 77 |
| Computer & Information Research Scientists | 74 | 66.9 | $46.23 | 8 | 99 | 21 |
| Database Architects | 64 | 8.1 | $45.72 | 38 | 75 | 82 |
| Computer Occupations, All Other | 55 | 1.5 | $43.81 | 2 | 96 | 85 |
| Actuaries | 52 | 11.0 | $48.76 | 20 | 91 | 56 |
| Computer Network Architects | 37 | 1.2 | $38.96 | 53 | 78 | 56 |
| Web Developers | 33 | 2.7 | $41.19 | 24 | 77 | 42 |
| Computer Programmers | 31 | 3.2 | $28.35 | 4 | 28 | 16 |
| Database Administrators | 28 | 1.9 | $41.54 | 29 | 70 | 76 |
| Statisticians | 16 | 1.9 | $36.23 | 21 | 100 | 37 |
| Computer Network Support Specialists | 9 | 0.2 | $25.72 | 25 | 63 | 26 |
| Source: DEED Job Vacancy Survey | ||||||
While revealing the high demand for IT jobs in the Metro Area, DEED's JVS also reveals the characteristics of that demand. For example, the median wage offer of $42.59 for Computer & Mathematical occupations in the Metro Area was more than twice the median wage offer for the total of all occupations, $19.96. IT jobs are more often full-time positions requiring more postsecondary education. IT job vacancies also typically require related work experience (see Table 1).
Those IT occupations with the most vacancies in the Metro Area include Software Developers (1,894 job vacancies), Computer User Support Specialists (435 job vacancies), Computer Systems Analysts (291 job vacancies), Computer & Information Systems Managers (208 job vacancies), and Network & Computer Systems Administrators (205 job vacancies).
Contact Tim O'Neill, Labor Market Analyst, at timothy.oneill@state.mn.us
