by James A. Bacon

Based on a tally of listings in online job sites, AI-related job offerings expressed as a percentage of the population are higher in Virginia than any other state. In absolute numbers, California employers have 6,702 listings on LinkedIn and Glassdoor, more than the 4,007 counted in Virginia. But AI listings per 100,000 people are the highest in Virginia at 46.0 — more than double that of the runner-up, Maryland.

The data come from a study by Getac, a “rugged computing solutions specialist,” which scraped the listings on LinkedIn and Glassdoor. I can’t vouch for the methodology, but it seems valid as a rough indicator of relative intensity of AI-related job offerings.

The jobs on offer in Virginia include “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Pilots Project Manager,” “AI Technical Writer,” and “AI Solution Sales Specialist,” stated the Getac press release. 

One would expect California, where so much AI enterprise startup activity is occurring, to lead the pack. California-based Meta (parent of Facebook) and Intersources, Inc., a cybersecurity firm, top the list of employers hiring AI talent. Getac’s methodology may undercount true hiring activity, however, as much of the hiring in Silicon Valley occurs through personal relationships and referrals, so it is possible that many jobs never appear in online job listings.

Still, Virginia’s position at the top of the list provides insight into the state’s evolving economy. Look at the list of employers hiring the most AI talent. Some may not traditionally be thought of as technology companies, but they are intensive users of technology.

Three of the top 10 are management and IT consulting firms: Deloitte, Accenture, and PwC. Accenture has major operations in Northern Virginia. (I don’t know about the other two.) Then there’s the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. And the biggest surprise (to me) — No. 5 on the list — Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., parent company of Newport News Shipbuilding.