Seattle-area employers advertised for more than 31,000 technology jobs during August, according to WANTED Analytics, which reports that demand in the Emerald City is growing faster than in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. The number of tech jobs grew 7 percent in August, compared with the same time last year and more than 160 percent compared with four years ago. Occupations cited as the most in demand in Seattle include:

1. Software developers (applications) 2. IT project managers 3. Web developers 4. Network and computer systems administrators 5. Computer systems analysts 6. Software quality assurance engineers and testers 7. Computer user support specialists 8. Computer systems engineers/architects 9. Computer programmers 10. Software developers (systems software)

Demand for software developers grew by 17 percent, with 13,000 positions advertised. IT project managers, meanwhile, saw a 23 percent increase in advertised positions in August from a year ago. Recruiting competition has cooled somewhat for Web developers, network and computer systems administrators, software QA engineers and testers, computer user support, and programmers, the report notes. The Seattle-area, home to Amazon, Microsoft and a vibrant startup scene, is a thriving economic region for a range of industries, putting it first among metro areas creating the most jobs last month, and second in wage growth, according to published reports. Additionally, the Seattle-area's unemployment rate overall was 5.2 percent in August, much lower than the 7.3 percent national rate. Staples and Twitter are just two of the companies ramping up IT hiring in the area.