Nearly 530,000 cybersecurity workers are needed to fill the talent gap in the U.S., despite recent layoffs in the tech industry, according to a new report backed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Computing Technology Industry Association.
The figures were generated from Cyberseek, a data analysis tool CompTIA co-developed with NIST and labor market analytics firm Lightcast.
Cybersecurity demand set a record increase every month for the first nine months of 2022, and slowed down in November and December, CompTIA reported.
The number of employed professionals reached 1.1 million, while online job postings marginally declined from 769,736 to 755,743.
Supply-demand ratio rose from 65 to 68 workers per 100 job openings, with public and private sector demand increasing 25 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
“Despite concerns about a slowing economy, demand for cybersecurity workers remains historically high. Companies know cybercrime won’t pause for a market downturn, so employers can’t afford to pause their cybersecurity hiring,” said Will Markow, vice president of applied research-talent at Lightcast.