The technology industry’s unemployment rate rose slightly in the second quarter of 2016, hitting 2.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the second quarter of 2015, it reached 2.0 percent. The technology industry continues to outdo the overall U.S. labor market, where the unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent for the second quarter. Check out Dice’s latest Tech Employment Snapshot for Q2 2016 (PDF) in order to see the full range of jobs created/lost. As with most quarters, certain segments monitored by the BLS performed better on the employment front than others. The unemployment rate for Web developers, for example, rose from 3.10 percent in the second quarter of 2015 to 4.70 percent in the second quarter of 2016. By contrast, the unemployment rate for computer support specialists declined from 3.50 percent in the year-ago quarter to 1.20 percent. Network and systems administrators, software developers, and information security analysts likewise saw their unemployment rates go down year-over-year, even as the rate rose for computer & information systems managers, programmers, and computer systems analysts. Computer and electronic products manufacturing lost 3,200 jobs in the second quarter, worse than the same quarter in 2015, when the segment lost 400 positions. Although the manufacturing segment gains jobs in some quarters, it also goes through regular downturns as many companies move their factory operations offshore. In addition, the demand for PCs and other hardware has steadily slackened over the past few years. For more on voluntary quits (an important economic indicator, according to many analysts) as well as monthly averages of layoffs and discharges, just click to receive the Snapshot (PDF). 
