Study: Raleigh-Durham ranks 10th among metros as hub for ‘Tech Talent’

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RALEIGH – A growing number of workers in the high-tech market makes Raleigh-Durham No. 10 among 50 major US and Canadian metros as a hub for “Tech Talent,” according to a new report from commercial real estate services firm CBRE. Charlotte comes in 28th.

The study focuses on a variety of metrics designed to measure a metro area’s ability to attract new talent.

CBRE’s analysis gives high marks to the Triangle for educational attainment (No. 7), strong growth in its millennial population, and “more favorable tech hiring conditions” than such places as Silicon Valley.

“Raleigh-Durham continues to be a market that tech companies are focused on expanding or locating in,” said Jason High, executive vice president of occupier services at CBRE|Raleigh, in a statement.

“This growth will drive additional tech talent opportunities as these companies take advantage of the key attributes the Raleigh-Durham market has to offer — low cost of doing business, low cost of living and a highly educated talent pool fed by a number of major universities.”

WHERE RALEIGH-DURHAM STANDS OUT

  • Raleigh-Durham ranked No. 7 among the top markets for educational attainment, with 53 percent of its population aged 25 or older having earned at least a bachelor’s degree.
  • Home to Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and NC State, the region offers very high quality of tech talent within their highly educated workforce. In fact, Raleigh-Durham produced far more tech graduates from 2014 to 2018 (16,855) than tech jobs that it added (11,900), meaning Raleigh-Durham is generating tech talent for other markets, too.
  • Raleigh-Durham’s millennial population has grown by 15.6 percent in the past five years, the seventh-fastest growth rate among large tech-talent markets.
  • Raleigh-Durham has more favorable tech hiring conditions for employers compared with the most well-known tech centers (Bay Area, Seattle, Austin, Boston).

Source: CBRE

Tech workers make up 7% of the metro area’s workforce, CBRE says.

Raleigh-Durham held on to the same ranking from a 2019 study.

According to the Scoring Tech Talent Report, the Triangle area now employs more than 67,000 workers in high tech in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the economy. That’s a 21.3% increase over five years from 2014-2019.

However, CBRE says its analysis takes into consideration what the pandemic has meant for the economy.

“The report outlines how tech-talent jobs are positioned to weather COVID-19 and related shutdowns and the ensuing recession because, more than ever, companies across all industries need the technical skills that this talent base offers,” CBRE says.

“Many tech products and services such as streaming, remote communications and social media now are in higher demand to support remote work and social distancing.”

San Francisco/Silicon Valley topped the scorecard followed by Washington, D.C., Seattle, Toronto and New York.

CBRE notes scores are “determined based on 13 unique metrics, including tech talent supply, growth, concentration, cost, completed tech degrees, industry outlook for job growth, and market outlook for both office and apartment rent cost growth.”

Read the full report online.

Original Article Source: WRAL TechWire