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Study reveals how B.C.'s tech industry stacks up against the rest of Canada

Annual report on state of technology estimates 1.4M Canadians are tech workers
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About 60 per cent of technology workers in Canada work for high-tech companies.

Technology workers represented 6.6 per cent of Canada’s workforce in 2022, and the tech industry accounts for 5.5 per cent of Canada’s “direct economic value,” according to Computing Technology Industry Association.

In its State of the Workforce Canada, the association estimates that 1.4 million Canadian employees are tech workers, with the number expected to have increased by 1.3 per cent by the end of 2023.

About 60 per cent of these employees work for technology companies. The balance work in technology jobs for non-tech business and organizations.

Canada-wide, there are 54,746 businesses classified as technology companies, with 6,388 of them being located in B.C.

As a percentage of the overall Canadian economy, the tech industry accounts for 5.5 per cent of direct economic value, the report estimates, or $113 billion.

With 189,473 technology workers, B.C. is the third largest employer of tech workers. Ontario is the largest employer of tech workers, followed by Quebec.

“When compared to the other provinces Ontario stands apart for the number of jobs in tech with 47.1 per cent of Canadian projected net tech employment coming from this province,” the State of the Workforce report notes.

Ontario also has the highest number of technology businesses -- 29,195 – followed by Quebec (11,118), B.C. (6,388), and Alberta (5,103).

Canada-wide, the top four categories for technology job postings are software engineers and designers, IT support and network technicians, database analysts and administrators, and computer and information system managers.

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