Employer demand for cybersecurity professionals across Arizona is accelerating, according to new data from CyberSeek™, the leading source of actionable data on supply and demand in the nation’s cybersecurity job market.

Arizona employers in the private and public sectors posted an estimated 7,867 job openings for cybersecurity workers between September 2017 and August 2018. That’s up from the estimated 6,875 cyber job postings for the comparable period one year ago.

More than 15,300 cybersecurity professionals are currently employed across Arizona. This includes workers in primary cybersecurity jobs, as well as workers in roles requiring cybersecurity-related skills and certifications.

CyberSeek was created by CompTIA and Burning Glass Technologies through a grant awarded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“Efforts to address the shortage of cybersecurity workers are underway on many fronts, but progress has been frustratingly slow,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO, CompTIA. “Yet the threats are real and growing, with the potential to impact the livelihood of any organization.

“Our current cybersecurity workforce is doing what it can to keep us protected,” Thibodeaux continued. “It’s critical for private sector companies and public sector agencies to take the actions necessary to bring more people into the cybersecurity workforce, and to equip them with the appropriate education, training and certifications.”

Nationwide, the U.S. cybersecurity workforce totals at estimated 715,715 workers. Employers advertised job openings for an additional 313,737 positions between September 2017 and August 2018.

The cybersecurity job market has tightened across the country. Within the U.S. economy there are currently 5.8 employed workers for every job opening. In the cybersecurity realm, the ratio of existing cybersecurity workers to the number of cybersecurity job openings is 2.3 nationally. In Arizona the ratio is even lower at 2.0. The lower the ratio, the more challenging it gets for employers trying to hire cyber pros.

The top five cyber job roles Arizona employers are looking to fill are cybersecurity engineer, cybersecurity analyst, network engineer/architect, systems engineer and cybersecurity manager/administrator.

Beyond the comprehensive supply-and-demand data, CyberSeek also features an interactive career pathway, showing key jobs within cybersecurity, common transition opportunities between them, and detailed information about the salaries, credentials, and skillsets associated with each role.

CyberSeek can support local employers, educators, guidance and career counselors, students, current workers, policy makers, and other stakeholders interested in building and maintaining the U.S. cybersecurity workforce. Visit https://www.cyberseek.org/.