Tech sector jobs make up a growing segment of North Carolina’s total employment, according to a recent NC Tech report.

Based on the latest numbers from 2023, the State of the Industry Report shows the technology industry employs just over 323,000 of North Carolina’s 4.8 million workers, or nearly 7%. The state ranked No. 8 nationwide in total tech industry employment growth from 2018 to 2023, with a growth rate of nearly 19%.

As of 2023, more than 6% of jobs in New Hanover County were tech industry jobs, while between 3% and 5.9% of jobs in Brunswick County were part of the tech industry.

Ted Abernathy, managing partner at Economic Leadership, the firm that produced the report, presented its findings in Wilmington last week during a briefing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Abernathy began by putting things into context within the broader economy. He said that roughly five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy has surged back. Between 2020 and 2024, employment at the state and national levels grew in all sectors except manufacturing.

The post-COVID-19 era has forced business leaders to adapt to a new normal, which includes an uptick in new businesses and entrepreneurship and an emphasis on hybrid or remote work environments.

Meanwhile, Abernathy said, the tech sector has helped fuel North Carolina’s overall economic growth. 

“The tech industry, over the last five years, has played a huge role in all of that growth," he said. "Only the finance and insurance industry has grown faster.”

“We like tech also because it’s a very high multiplier," Abernathy added. "If you're a tech worker, you tend to make a lot of money and spend it all, and so you ripple through the economy more than someone who makes less money than you.” 

In addition to the roughly 323,000 jobs created in the tech sector, another approximately 751,000 roles are supported by the industry – a total of 22% of North Carolina jobs. IT makes up nearly 175,000 tech sector jobs, followed by life sciences with just over 110,000 roles, enviro tech with 23,000 and energy tech with close to 15,000 jobs.

“Most of our growth has come from the service side of the industry,” Abernathy added.

Abernathy said factors like the business climate, regulatory factors and available workforce remain top issues for companies when considering the move to a new area. Business leaders also want to know whether an area can supply the electricity they need, if an area’s quality of life will draw and keep workers in an area, and if workforce housing and childcare are available, Abernathy said. 

Statewide, software developers make up the largest tech occupation with more than 58,000 jobs, followed by market research analysts in second with nearly 28,000.

Abernathy said he expects to see significant impacts from the increasing use of AI, with data suggesting that approximately 40% of jobs will be either positively or negatively affected by the technology. He expects AI will influence trends in available tech jobs in the coming months and years.

“AI will impact everything, just like the internet impacts everything. But some jobs that can be computer routinized, it may be two years; it may be 10 years, but they're going to be automated,” he said. “There's no chance they're not.”