Toronto ranks fourth in North American tech talent, driven by demand for AI skills, report says

A new report says Toronto saw the most tech job gains of any North American market over the last five years as demand for artificial intelligence skill sets rose.

Commercial real estate services firm CBRE says the city added 95,900 tech talent jobs between 2018 and 2023, representing growth of 44 per cent over that timeframe.

The report adds Toronto ranked fourth in the top 50 tech markets for this year, moving up one spot compared with last year. The top three markets were the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and New York.

Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s tech insights center, says increased demand for skill sets in artificial intelligence has fuelled tech talent job growth across all sectors.

He adds hiring growth will continue this year and next year as companies further develop and adopt AI tech.

The report says major tech centres including Vancouver, Montreal and Waterloo, Ont., dropped in their tech talent rankings.