How Startups are driving Boston’s 412%+ Tech Market Growth

Startups: Boston’s Secret Recipe for Growth

An astonishing 412.7% growth in new tech jobs in Boston is raising eyebrows, but to experienced watchers of the market, the boom was already on the horizon. Between growing numbers of startups, growing salaries and a city that’s ready to support an influx of new jobs, Boston’s party is only getting started.

Job Numbers: Massive Growth

After a hard fall in 2020 due to COVID-19, Boston’s job market seems to be rebounding well. With a 412.7% year/year increase in the number of new Internet and Tech roles being opened, and an expected post-COVID hiring boom to follow, hiring is taking off in Boston once again.

Compared to the number of tech workers in America as a whole -- approximately 12.2 million with predictions to rise by 2% over the next 12 months -- Boston’s growth as a new competitor is significant. While the giants of California and New York still overshadow Boston and Massachusetts overall, as a percentage of Boston employment, tech is on the rise.

Salary Numbers: Trending Up

While falling short of the numbers in the job market, the importance of tech workers is increasingly visible in their rising salaries. Hired.com lists a 9% jump in the average salary of Software Engineers, and other statistics hubs are not far behind. Potential employees, however, are looking at a lot more than just salary size and benefits.?

How do companies remain competitive in hiring top talent? According to Hired.com’s survey of tech workers, meaningful work and growth opportunities are still the main factors. “In ranking companies, local candidates were more attracted to companies that had a solid reputation, appealing company mission, and companies that offered the opportunity to learn new skills.”

The top company, iRobot, pays an average salary of $120,000, and the salaries at tiny Boston Dynamics are similar, but engineers ranked them top of the heap because of their new and exciting work in robotics. They also ranked Wayfair (with an average salary of $160,000) and Akamai (another generous employer) highly, which demonstrates that workers in such a highly competitive industry have more in mind than money -- though the money probably helps.?

Startups: A Different Kind of Trend

In March of 2021 alone, Boston startups were given 3.1 billion in Venture Capital. Biotech startups like Nexamp (with fewer than 200 employees) or FogPharma (less than 50) may not yet be moving the needle as far as salaries are concerned, and they won’t be able to hire as many workers as the new regional Amazon office does on a slow Tuesday, but most of them will need to expand their worker base and the effects of that shift are beginning to show in hiring trends.?

The Perfect Petri Dish: Drivers of Growth

According to the 1776 organization’s Innovation that Matters report, the story behind Boston’s growth is a case of networks and ecosystems finally reaching their potential. “Ecosystems are born when everyone is constantly talking to each other,” says Steven Kuyan of the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, and the thriving economy shows just how right he was.

Besides this increase in communication, cities and regions are helped by a sturdy foundation of critical density in employers, workers, and civic institutions. This critical foundation is Boston’s main asset in producing and supporting startups, and its peak efficiency is still a long way off.

Boston has:

• Top-ranked universities to draw in the talent that will take those creative entrepreneurial leaps.? From 2016 to 2020, Boston universities matriculated 48,763 graduates from all tech fields providing an ample supply of talent for workforce growth.
• Established businesses to rely on for work that a small startup can’t yet do in house -- think admin automation, lawyers, accounting, etc.
• Supportive government infrastructure that can accommodate new factories, labs, and office spaces.
• A sturdy venture capital platform ready to advise new startups and support promising new ideas.
• A real estate market that enables workers to own homes and businesses to keep their premises local.
• And a whole host of other intangible benefits that keep the talent local and satisfied -- such as excellent schools, civic amenities, etc.?

None of these factors alone would be enough to keep a fire lit, but together? You’ve got something incendiary on your hands. A critical mass of startup growth keeps the region innovating technologically, and draws workers towards Boston like moths to the proverbial flame.

Where Does Rabbit Recruit Come In?

With new investment opportunities on the horizon, startups need to implement their expansion plans fast, and many of them are turning to recruiters to give their hiring process the same speed and efficiency that they demand from their teams.?

Companies such as Amazon are snapping up the majority of the tech talent, leaving scraps for the smaller companies that can’t offer the same kind of salary and benefits.?

Startups, on the other hand, will have to compete heavily for tech talent, with every new hire slated to be crucial to their growth and success. Without the same HR Resources or clout, plus limited bandwidth to put into niche roles, they often struggle to find qualified candidates that are willing to leave their current roles.?

Rabbit Recruit is filling that gap. With a wealth of experience in negotiation, screening, and sourcing qualified tech candidates, we already know where to find highly skilled engineers and how to get to their 'WHY' for doing what they do. More than anything else, talent wants to work on projects that are meaningful to them - and a great recruiter takes the time to understand that.

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