Despite recent losses, report predicts Baltimore’s tech workforce to grow

The Baltimore metro area’s estimated 105,355 tech workers might get more new colleagues than they lost last year, a new Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) report suggests.

The trade organization’s latest “State of the Tech Workforce” study, which shares tech workforce data and analytics at the local and national levels, ranked the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metropolitan statistical area in 20th place for net tech employment last year. For perspective: The aforementioned figure of 105,355 falls between numbers for the regions around Portland, Oregon (109,516) and Detroit, Michigan (100,088). The report’s corresponding state statistics put Maryland in 15th place, bracketed by Colorado and Arizona.

Looking forward, this year’s report projects the US’ tech industry to be responsible for 8.9 million jobs in 2022, including 178,000 net new jobs. Part of that growth comes from a 5% year-over-year increase in the number of tech businesses in the country, which now number 507,000.

Despite losing an estimated 264 workers between 2020 and 2021, the Baltimore area is expected to gain 2,260 tech jobs this year. Some of that prior loss could be attributed to the moves to the metaverse that local tech giants like Mindgrub recently made. But it’s also easy to envision more jobs on the horizon, with companies like Fearless winning federal contracts worth $120 million before using that money to fund tech incubators like Hutch and support more job growth.

The industry’s capital also suggests that trend will only continue, with CompTIA finding that the median tech occupation wage is 125% higher than the median national wage. The report also noted that the tech industry increasingly drives national economic trends, comprising $1.8 trillion worth of economic output that amounts to 9% of the total U.S. economy. In Baltimore, the tech industry accounts for almost 10% of the local economy, with an economic impact of $19 billion. All of that contributes to a projected growth rate for the industry that is nearly twice the expected national job-creation rate.

Baltimore Tracks, which is committed to improving racial equity in the local tech community, hired a consultancy firm last year to conduct a DEI report and give a snapshot of diversity in the local tech ecosystem. This CompTIA report gives a fuller picture of a tech economy set to boom that will (hopefully) include all Baltimoreans.

Donte Kirby is a 2020-2022 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.