Computer and Information Technology Occupations

"Employment of computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 12 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than the average for all occupations.

These occupations are expected to add about 488,500 new jobs, from about 3.9 million jobs to about 4.4 million jobs from 2014 to 2024, in part due to a greater emphasis on cloud computing, the collection and storage of big data, more everyday items becoming connected to the Internet in what is commonly referred to as the “Internet of things,” and the continued demand for mobile computing."

-- United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth on the State Level

Employees in North Carolina’s tech sector made up 5.8% of the state’s total employee base in 2015. For comparison, health care and construction industries made up 12% and 5% of the state’s employment, respectively.

There were 18,224 technology establishments operating in North Carolina in 2015, up about 1,000 from the year before. The report found jobs in the local tech industry have grown by 20.6% over the past five years, which is the third-highest growth rate in the country and above the national average of 10.9%.

The state ranks No. 1 for IT employment growth, a sub-category of the technology industry. North Carolina saw IT employment growth of 28.4% between 2010 and 2015 — two times faster than the national average. [...]

The industry report also found North Carolina ranks under the national average for the percentage of minority tech workers compared to the state’s minority population. Only one state had a diversity index above 1 in the report, which means the minority population in that tech sector is greater than the state’s overall minority population.

North Carolina had a diversity index of 0.72, ranking 21 st across the states.

-- Charlotte Business Journal, N.C. Technology Association’s 2017 State of Technology Industry Report

The Right Place to Innovate

The Innovation Quarter is a vibrant community of business and academia – developing products and services that hold hope of improving quality of life through discoveries and innovations.

As a mixed-use development on the eastern side of downtown Winston-Salem, the Innovation Quarter is working with neighbors such as the Goler Community Development Corp., to revitalize an area that had been home to manufacturers long departed.

The location in the Piedmont Triad gives businesses access to some of the brightest minds in North Carolina, a place that has earned national recognition for its high-tech success and low cost of living. Within easy reach of North Carolina’s pristine beaches and majestic mountains, not to mention the rapidly expanding entertainment and artistic choices within walking distance, the Innovation Quarter is a great place to Work, Live, Learn and Play.

-- The Innovation Quarter, President Eric Tomlinson