Employment in the U.S. tech sector expanded by an estimated 18,900 new jobs in April, according to an analysis released today by CompTIA, the leading technology industry association.

New hiring in technology services, custom software development and computer systems design led the April job growth, with an estimated 14,100 new hires, CompTIA’s analysis of today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics “Employment Situation” report finds.

Also contributing to the April performance were employment gains in other information services, including search portals (+ 5,200 jobs) and computer and electronic products manufacturing (+ 2,200). The category of data processing, hosting and related services recorded a more modest increase in jobs (+ 500).

The tech sector’s April employment numbers would have been even more impressive if not for a loss of some 3,100 positions in telecommunications.

“The data speaks to the dynamic nature of tech employment, whereby employers may simultaneously hire, shift or shed workers,” said Anna Matthai, senior manager of research and market intelligence, CompTIA. “This reflects the continuous need for skills and expertise that keep pace with ever-changing technology.”

IT occupations across the entire U.S. economy declined by an estimated 62,000 jobs, reversing some of the hiring gains from earlier this year. There tends to be a higher degree of variance with monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics data at the occupation level, so the monthly occupation figures should be viewed as directional.

The unemployment rate for IT occupations was 2.4 percent in April, up slightly compared to the same period one year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate declined to 3.6 percent last month.

The number of April job postings by employers for core IT positions declined by an estimated 41,469 from the March figure. Software and application developers continue to be the most in-demand talent companies are looking to hire, with 78,000 job postings last month. Other tech jobs companies were looking to fill included computer user support specialists (19,700), computer systems engineers and architects (19,100), computer systems analysts (16,500) and web developers (15,200).

SOURCE CompTIA