Tech jobs were perhaps a little easier to find in the first half of 2010, according to a national advocacy and research group for the high-tech industry.

The TechAmerica Foundation organization said its analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed that the U.S. high-tech industry added 30,200 jobs between January and June of 2010, a 0.5% gain. That was after the industry added jobs until the last quarter of 2008, when the rest of the U.S. job market was well into the recession.

Two of the sectors that most affect credit unions--software services and engineering and tech services--added jobs in the first six months, 14,200 and 29,700 respectively, the foundation said.

Communications services--including Internet and telecomm companies--shed 22,800 jobs in the same period.

Technology manufacturers added 9,100 net jobs in the first half of 2010, for a total of 1.24 million jobs in June--a 0.7% gain that reversed recent losses, the foundation said.

Overall tech employment in June 2010 was 5.78 million, down from 5.99 million jobs at the beginning of 2009.

The tech employment report is part of the foundation's Competitiveness Series, available for free downloading at www.techamericafoundation.org.