Just in time for the latest jobs report, optimism is increasing for tech job stability and growth early in 2024 in Los Angeles, Orange County

While California and renowned Silicon Valley is synonymous with Big Tech and where new tech is born, metro powerhouses like Los Angeles and the greater southern California region are gaining steam in tech authority.

That is partly due to tech-first companies stabilizing and hiring again, but also non-tech organizations requiring more tech specialists to achieve their digitization goals. Industries like finance, manufacturing, retail as well as healthcare, and government IT roles down to the local level are in high demand.

What Does Tech Job Growth in Los Angeles Look Like for 2024?

California overall took the top spot in tech job postings in the latest CompTIA jobs report for January 2024. At a metro level, Los Angeles ranked #6 across top U.S. metros for tech job postings, followed by San Francisco and San Jose. Manufacturing also jumped out as one of the top industry sectors hiring for tech in L.A.

Just this past summer, the annual CBRE 2023 Scoring Tech Talent Report ranked LA at #14 for tech hub cities across the U.S., indicating a 5-year growth in the tech talent workforce at 17 percent. Tech wages for a large market places Los Angeles/Orange County at the #10 spot, and have increased 20% from 2017 to 2022. According to CompTIA’s State of the Workforce data, the Los Angeles metro finds “median tech wages are 119% higher than median national wages.”

Next-Gen Workforce Tech Talent in Greater Los Angeles Stands Out

Another notable figure from the CBRE report showed that southern CA (LA/Orange County) is #2 in the output of tech graduates. This is particularly helpful as the workforce dynamic continues to change with older workers retiring and a new generation of workers being able to fill in the skill gaps.

When looking for the optimal career path to put tech skills to the test, Software Developers and Programmers, IT Project Managers and Cybersecurity Engineers are the leading tech occupations in the area.

So, How Do We Explain the Continued News of Layoffs?

As we see larger, well-known, brand-name companies announcing layoffs, it’s sure to make tech professionals stop and pause, but it’s important to remember it’s not as widespread or as pervasive as the right-sizing we experienced in 2022 and 2023. One important point to consider, as BCG research suggests, tech workers who were laid off quickly entered the workforce again. In fact, a ZipRecruiter survey from last January noted that “79 percent of recently laid-off technology workers landed a new job within three months of starting their search.”

In a recent Wired article, economic experts like Lightcast’s Rachel Sederberg share:

“Businesses make choices about what they want to focus on all the time, and sometimes they come as job cuts,” Sederberg says. The article continues, “Companies may continue to make these smaller, targeted cuts in coming months, but she says she doesn’t expect to see layoff “contagion” across tech companies or other industries.”

BLS data continues to show growth projections through the next 5-10 years in double-digit percentages for some of the highest in-demand tech jobs in the industry. From software development and programming to web design and data analytics, tech jobs are set to grow. We expect tech job growth in Los Angeles and SoCal to follow the same trends, as previous growth trends indicate so.

Our Prosum tech staffing experts in the Los Angeles, Southern California market continue to monitor hiring trends and work closely with employers and candidates to create the most effective hiring relationships for maximum competitiveness. Contact our team today to request IT talent or inquire about new tech opportunities.