A new Greater Washington Partnership report shows the latest job trends in the Capital Region

By 2025, approximately 60,000 digital tech jobs might go unfulfilled in the Capital Region, according to a new report from the Greater Washington Partnership (GWP).

The organization that convenes regional employers recently released a new analysis on tech hiring trends known as the Employer Insights Brief, studying the area stretching from Baltimore, Maryland to Richmond, Virginia. The report relies on both labor market data as well as listening sessions with industry leaders in the summer of 2022 to illustrate the local trends in hiring and tech jobs.

“This Employer Insights Brief was developed and published to bring visibility to our region’s hiring trends, needs, and talent practices, particularly across the digital tech landscape,” Kathy Hollinger, CEO of the GWP, told Technical.ly. “The report provides transparency into in-demand industries, occupations, education, and skills, and can help employers better message and partner with educators, job seekers, and other regional stakeholders on efforts to prepare the workforce of the future and make the region more economically competitive and resilient.”

Here are some of the report’s main findings:

• The region has 44% more roles in and contracted by the government than the national average. However, employers are limited in who they can recruit for these roles, thanks to more rigorous requirements for education and experience.
• Following national trends, software development, web development and IT jobs are the most in demand. Cloud architecture is also a high priority.
• Locally, 84% of digital tech roles require a bachelor’s degree — higher than the national level, which sits at 77%.
• The top three industries for employment are government; professional, scientific and technical services; and healthcare.
• The Capital Region hires more workers with security clearances than any other in the county at approximately 9% of jobs. The report points out, too, that the time to get a clearance hinders employers’ ability to hire quickly — on average, it takes about a year to gain a clearance — especially as the process can’t begin until after an employee has been hired.

The GWP report is part of its larger Employer Signaling System initiative focused on employer insights, labor market information and educator feedback.

“We know that transparency into skills and hiring trends is key as education and training providers evolve programs to support learners entering the workforce,” said Francesca Ioffreda, VP for inclusive group and talent initiative at GWP. “This is even more critical in rapidly evolving fields that rely on a technically proficient workforce. Greater Washington Partnership employers are committed to regularly sharing these insights to strengthen talent development across the Capital Region, and we hope this brief can be a resource for stakeholders engaged in education and workforce initiatives.”