Metro DC Wallops Silicon Valley in Software Developer Openings

Metro DC is far outpacing the West Coast in software develop job openings according to data from JLL, which found 4, 704 unique position postings in DC during the month of January. By comparison, there were 2, 824 postings in San Francisco; 2,774 in Los Angeles; 2,057 in Silicon Valley; and 1,270 in Seattle, WA.

All of the cities saw year-over-year declines in the number of job openings. But while DC saw a decrease of only 3%, the others ranged from a 38% drop for Silicon Valley to a 66% loss in Seattle.

The region’s large government contractor employer base, primarily driven by the aerospace and defense industry, is driving the stability, commanding 74.6% of job postings for software developers and benefiting from record highs in contract dollars awarded by the federal government in 2022, says JLL. Moreover, two out of every three openings require a security clearance, a reflection of the more sensitive, classified nature of these roles in comparison to the composition of tech in other markets.

Looking ahead, according to commercial real estate services firm JLL, heightened federal spending in local tech subsectors, like cybersecurity, should help bolster the volume of tech postings in the region.