Even after a decade of employment growth, talent gaps and skills shortages persist in the U.S. cybersecurity industry, with only enough workers to fill 83% of available jobs, according to an Oct. 15 report from CyberSeek.
Nearly 265,000 more cybersecurity workers are needed to fill current staffing requirements, adding to the 1.25 million workers in cybersecurity roles nationwide, the report said.
“The workforce gap underscores why we promote alternative pathways to careers in cybersecurity during Cybersecurity Career Week to broaden participation from individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences,” Rodney Petersen, director of NICE at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, said in a statement. “Closing that gap will require diversified approaches and investments, including education, training, reskilling and upskilling, and Registered Apprenticeships.”
Although hiring in most technology fields has slowed during the past year, cybersecurity has seen fewer effects. For instance, between September 2023 and August 2024, job postings for IT jobs dropped 28%, as compared to a 22% decline in cybersecurity.
During the past 12 months, employers have posted more than 457,000 cybersecurity positions. Although job demand has stabilized and returned to pre-pandemic levels, the field continues to shift due to new skills requirements and artificial intelligence-related tech changes. During the past year, cybersecurity job postings with AI skills increased from 6.3% to 7.3%.
Jobs are available at every career step, including entry-level cyber crime analysts (a 23% increase in job postings from the second quarter to third quarter), mid-level incident and intrusion analysts (a nearly 10% increase) and advanced-level cybersecurity engineers (a 10% increase).
In September, the White House launched a new program to fill 500,000 job openings in cybersecurity, technology and AI, with an emphasis on reaching candidates without traditional qualifications. As part of a national cyber workforce and education strategy, the federal government is supporting internships, apprenticeship programs and job recruitment fairs.
Broader recruitment efforts could help as well. A gender gap persists in the field, with women representing only 25% of the workforce, according to a report from The Female Quotient and Deloitte Global. Women noted several barriers, such as a lack of belonging and uncertainty about skills.
HR professionals also can help with cybersecurity workforce gaps by preparing workers for potential threats, having a response plan in place and ensuring the proper training for workers of all types. For cybersecurity roles in particular, this could include upskilling and reskilling opportunities focused on AI-related updates and other technological changes.