RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – The high-tech job market cooled a bit across North Carolina in September but are still some 37% higher that a year earlier, according to the latest IT Job Trends report from the North Carolina Technology Association.

“IT job openings in September hovered near historic highs, but dipped slightly in September from August,” said Brooks Raiford, CEO of NC TECH. “However, openings are up significantly over the same period one year ago, with largest year-over-year increases in the Triad, Asheville, and Greenville metro areas.”

As Raiford noted, openings declined to 39,030 from nearly 43,000 in August.

“While this is a drop-off from August numbers, the overall trajectory continues to be positive amidst a range of obstacles facing businesses across nearly every industry,” the report notes.

However, openings were up substantially from 28,420 in September 2020.

Demand for virtually all jobs remain strong across the Triangle, as reported in Monday’s Jobs Report from TechWire. (NC Tech is sponsoring a virtual job fair this week as noted and linked to in that story.)

Triangle employers scrambling to fill thousands of positions – virtual job fair could help

Pressure on job demand came from fears about the future impact of COVID-19 and what impact the Delta variant as well as supply chain issues will have on the economy going forward.

Job openings have been above 30,000 now for nine straight months in the report, which is sponsored by Clarkston Consulting and Momentum.

Here’s a breakdown of job openings across the state’s major metro areas:

N.C. MSAs
Locations, Sept ‘21, Sept ‘20

  • Charlotte / Concord / Gastonia: 13,512, +47%
  • Raleigh: 11,924, +35%
  • Durham/Chapel Hill: 4,073, +34%
  • Greensboro/High Point: 1,673, +109%
  • Fayetteville:1,227, +6%
  • Winston-Salem: 834, +37%
  • Wilmington: 417, +25%
  • Jacksonville: 346, +58%
  • Burlington: 331, +25%
  • New Bern: 246, +33%
  • Asheville: 220, +140%
  • Goldsboro: 211, +36%
  • Greenville: 171, +494%
  • Hickory/Lenior/Morganton:141, +32%
  • Rocky Mount: 50, +27%

NC TECH association graphic