Technology jobs grow across Canada

Tech employment in Canada expanded by nearly 45,000 jobs in 2017, to an estimated 1.2 million workers, according to a recent report published by technology industry trade association CompTIA.

The amount of tech talent in major Canadian cities is drawing employers to Canada.

Net tech employment accounted for approximately 8.4 percent of the overall Canadian workforce in 2017, according to the report.

“The amount of tech talent in major Canadian cities is drawing employers to Canada,” says Gordon Pelosse, U.S. Central and Canada country leader, global support, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and vice chairman of the CompTIA board of directors.

Continuation of the growth trend of tech jobs increasing

The outlook for technology employment points to a continuation of the growth trend, which has seen tech jobs increase by about 32,000 each year since 2010. Projections from Statistics Canada indicate the base of tech occupations is projected to increase by nearly 8 percent between 2018 and 2026.

The growth projections for many technology occupation categories exceed the national benchmark, and in some cases, by a significant amount. For example, database analysts and administrator roles are projected to grow at three times the rate as the national average. Software, systems analysts, which includes cybersecurity roles, and user support technicians will also experience notable gains through 2026.

“Reports indicate Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal have nearly three times the concentration of tech talent versus their North American peers,” Pelosse adds. “Canadian cities are among the best value for quality options for tech firms thanks to less expensive access to labour and real estate, but also high educational attainment levels. “

Beyond the raw numbers of new jobs, many of these positions have salaries well above those in other industries. According to the report (Cyberprovinces 2018), the average annual wage in the tech industry is $76,200; 51 percent higher than the average annual wage for all jobs ($50,400).

Among other key findings from the report:

• The top provinces when it comes to Net Tech Employment are Ontario and Quebec. The greatest number of jobs were also added in these provinces when compared to 2016.  Tech employment also represents about 10% of the total employment in these provinces.
• When compared to the other provinces Ontario stands apart for the number of jobs in tech with 44.6 percent of Canadian net tech employment coming from this province. This is consistent with Ontario’s population ratio (about 37 percent of the country), and economic impact (about 39 percent). Anchored by Canada’s most populous city, Toronto, the province of Ontario also accounted for a significant portion of tech employment gains during 2017. 
• Tech business establishments tend to be concentrated in population centers and in locations that are close to the customers they serve. Combined, Ontario and Quebec account for nearly two-thirds of the total tech business establishments with payroll in the country.
• There are approximately 69,000 tech business enterprises with payroll located throughout Canada. This is supplemented by self-employed tech workers, which are classified separately by Canadian government sources.
• According to data from Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insights, the number of job postings by Canadian employers for tech occupations reached nearly 114,000 during 2017. This figure was roughly in line with the rate from the previous year.