IT head count expanded broadly last year, but some occupations did better than others Credit: Thinkstock IT employment increased in every occupation and industry last year except oil and gas. Industry employment fell 4% to about 13,200 workers thanks to falling oil prices. That was the exception among all industries, including retail, health, finance and manufacturing. All of those saw IT employment gains. IT employment overall increased 3.1%, or by 152,000 jobs in 2015, according to a new analysis of government data by industry group CompTIA. The analysis was released on Friday. While strong hiring delivered employment gains in every IT occupation, here are the top ones: Cybersecurity analysts: 85,200 total jobs, +4.8%. Web developers: 243,800 jobs, +4.2%. Software developers, applications: 775,000 jobs, +4%. Software developers, systems: 428,000, +3.8% Systems analysts, 647,000, +3.8% Computer user support specialists, 685,000 +3.3% IT managers, CIOs, 371,000, +3.1% The oil and gas industry may be a small sector, in terms of employment, but it is a major IT user. It spent $700 million on high performance computing in 2014, according to the latest available data from IDC. Defense agencies spent $968 million, by comparison. Oil and gas “is one of the most IT-dependent industries,” said Chris Niven, research director for IDC Energy Insights. That’s because of the need to analyze what’s going on underground. But IT spending in the oil and gas industry may decline by as much as 3% this year. The industry is making greater use of cloud and outsourcing to cut costs, said Niven. Across all industries, CompTIA says last year’s IT job growth rate was its highest in a decade. Whether strong growth continues in 2016 is in doubt. Janco Associates, an IT labor analyst firm, sees a weaker year ahead for IT hiring, with the recent stock market decline an indicator of a slowdown. Seth Robinson, CompTIA’s senior director of technology analysis, said a hiring data bright spot is the demand for IT support specialists. The field continues to be a growth area, and is often an entry position for people in IT. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan May 03, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Udacity offers laid-off US workers free access to its courses for 30 days Sign-ups will be available over the next 30 days By Lucas Mearian May 02, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry IT Jobs IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe