US tech job growth lags behind the private sector

A contracted industry

One of the most significant US tech jobs trends has been contraction. This year alone, IT companies have been slashing jobs at one of its most rapid paces. According to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, job cuts in the tech sector for the first half of 2014 totaled more than 48,000. This number is up 68% compared to the same period in 2013. 2014’s tech job cuts are expected to surpass 56,918 planned cuts announced in all of 2013. In fact, the 2014 year-end job cut total is likely to be the highest since 2009, which saw a cut of about 174,000 jobs.

Computer companies are leading 2014 tech job cuts with more than 30,000 planned layoffs from January to June, amounting to a 51% increase from the same period in 2013. The cuts are expected to continue. According to data from Statista, global shipments of desktop personal computers are expected to decrease more than 21% from 2010 to 2017 and laptop shipments more than 2%.

On the flip side, tablet shipments are expected to surge. Statista predicts global shipments of tablets will increase from 19 million in 2010 to a whopping 332 million by 2015.