Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read July 2021 — The Miami tech sector is growing and so are the job opportunities as companies continue to relocate and startups establish themselves in the Magic City.
A CompTIA analysis of Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insights data shows a 29% increase in tech job postings in the tri-county area with 14,084 total posts as of June 2021 for tech and innovation related positions. This is in comparison to the 10,945 total tech job postings seen at the end of 1Q21, reports the BizJournal.
The postings demonstrate that while dozens of tech startups and venture capital firms made the pilgrimage to the new and growing tech-Mecca, they’re not just opening offices and importing labor. Rather, these businesses are recruiting locally and creating new jobs in the process. Many relocated due to the region’s low taxes and the business-friendly environment fostered by local and state players.
“Our local mayor and our local county mayor are both incredible. I think the mayor’s invitation to the tech world has been second to none. I believe Miami is on fire because of great governance both at the state and city levels,” Russell Galbut, co-founder and managing principal of real-estate development company Crescent Heights, told Invest:.
And while these jobs and companies are coming to Miami, some have raised questions as to where the talent might come from, considering the tech sector is a more recent development for a county that has long relied on its tourism and hospitality industries. The answer is relying on both homegrown and recruited labor.
A CBRE report published in May 2020 notes that South Florida tech grads are the most diverse in the nation for underrepresented groups, with 68.1% of the area’s 2,770 graduating class of 2019 coming from Hispanic, Black, and Asian graduates.
Miami is also taking steps to find and bring in new talent, specifically software engineers, with the launch of Miami Hack week on Aug. 1st. The ultimate goal of this event will be to lure upwards of 5,000 engineers to the city. Co-organizer and South Florida native Dave Fontenot, founder of MHacks, spoke to the Miami Herald on how finding qualified talent is a problem even for developed tech markets in other cities. However the opportunity is there to capitalize on the city’s current momentum as an alternative to the traditional tech centers of the world.
The developments between the surging job postings, company relocations and startup foundings, as well as community efforts to capitalize on the current spotlight Miami wields, make a compelling case for the city and its evolution from sunny playground and vacation spot to an established business and tech capital. “It’s a movement, not a moment,” said Mayor Francis Suarez on Miami’s transformation to a tech hub.
Photo by Lagos Techie on Unsplash
