The latest employment data makes one thing clear: Companies everywhere really want remote software developers and engineers.
CompTIA’s monthly Tech Jobs Report, which analyzes data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as well as Emsi Burning Glass (which collects and studies millions of job postings from across the country), offers a breakdown of the top all-remote jobs in tech at the moment. Take a look:
Yep, it’s glaringly obvious: Between April and May, job postings for all-remote software developers and engineers rapidly outpaced all other tech positions, including web developers and network engineers/architects. It seems like employers everywhere are perfectly happy if software developers and engineers work from the comfort of home, which makes sense—after all, millions of developers and engineers have been doing their jobs remotely for the past two years without any substantial issues.
There’s another factor in play here: the tech unemployment rate, which stood at 2.1 percent in May (the national unemployment rate stood at 3.6 percent). Given the continuing demand for all kinds of technologists, many organizations are turning to remote workers to secure the talent they need. Executives who disdained the idea of remote work before the pandemic are realizing it might offer the only option for filling out their teams with effective people. As a result, we’re seeing healthy month-over-month gains in remote tech jobs, even as offices across the country open again.
For those technologists exploring the idea of remote work, keep in mind that the prevalence of remote positions is potentially shrinking the “geography gap” in pay. Even if you live in an area that’s traditionally paid technologists less than the well-established tech hubs of Silicon Valley and New York City, many organizations are bumping up remote workers’ pay to remain competitive and ensure that all team members in all geographies are paid roughly the same. Keep that in mind as you begin your job hunt.