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Net tech employment at 1.72 million workers, 73,000-plus tech businesses across the country

Toronto – Canada’s technology industry recorded another year of steady growth in 2019, according to Cyberprovinces™, the annual report on the size and scope of the country’s tech industry and workforce published by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the global technology industry.

Net tech employment increased by nearly 60,000 positions in 2019, a growth rate of 3.6% over the previous year, and now totals an estimated 1.72 million workers. Since 2011, net tech employment in Canada has increased by an estimated 282,000 net new jobs. The figures include technology professionals working in technical positions and business professionals employed by technology companies.

“Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, the Canadian tech sector continues to post strong job growth, demonstrated by the nearly 135,000 job postings in 2019,” said Gordon Pelosse, U.S. Central and Canada country leader for global support at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and chairman of the CompTIA Board of Directors.

“Employers across the country are looking for talent in big data. artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics and other emerging areas, as well as in traditional technology roles, such as systems analyst, database analyst, programmer and support technician,” Pelosse added. “Along with the variety of jobs and career paths in the tech field are wages that continue to be strong, outpacing the average Canadian salary by some 52%.”

Canada’s tech sector accounted for 4.7% of the overall Canadian economy in 2019, up slightly from 2018. There are approximately 73,154 tech business establishments with payroll located throughout Canada.

Eight provinces recorded gains in technology employment in 2019, led by Ontario (+31,735), Quebec (15,937) and British Columbia (+12,323).

The media annual wage for a technology worker in Canada is $76,471 CAD compared to $54,483 CAD for all occupations.

CompTIA’s Cyberprovinces report is based on data available through the end of 2019. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian technology industry and workforce will not be fully understood until complete 2020 labour market data is available.

“Canada’s tech industry remains on solid footing even with the continuing uncertainty brought on by the pandemic,” said Al Nasturzio, CompTIA’s business development manager in Canada. “We’re encouraged by the immediate need for technology workers in a number of industries, including professional services, financial service, manufacturing and retail, and the long-term projections for employment growth over the next several years.”

Double-digit growth is projected for the period from 2019 through 2027 for several occupations, including database analysts and administrators (22%), systems analysts and consultants (17%), software engineers (16%) and user support technicians (15%).

Technology job  postings through the first half of 2020 were down from the same period in 2019, but still totaled more than 54,700.            

The report notes that employer demand for skills in areas such as machine learning, robotics, augmented and virtual reality, blockchain, internet of things and related emerging technologies increased by 36% percent in 2019. Though still a relatively small subset of overall job postings, it is an indicator of where business investment in tech may be headed.

The complete Cyberprovinces 2020 report, with comprehensive national and province level data on average wages, business establishments, job postings, emerging tech metrics and more, is available at https://www.comptia.org/content/cyberprovinces-2020.

About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5.2 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the estimated 75 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world’s economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce.  www.comptia.org.

Contact:

Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
+1 (630) 678-8468
sostrowski@comptia.org­
www.comptia.org