Growth in IT hiring slows for the 3rd month in a row

IT Salary SurveyEven as the national unemployment level falls to 7.5%, growth of IT jobs has fallen from a peak of 11,700 jobs added in January to only 4,600 in April…

Growth in IT hiring slows for the 3rd month in a row - The latest BLS data shows a continued slowing in the rate of job creation for IT jobs. The CEO of Janco Associates, MV Janulaitis said, "According to the BLS there were only 4,600 jobs created for IT professionals - down from 11,700 created in January. The impact of "sequester" is part of the cause, the others are that no manufacturing jobs were added in April and the uncertainty of new taxes. In addition, more people continue to remain out of the job market with the lowest participation rate since 1979 -- even as the published unemployment rate goes down. " He added, "If you look at the stock market you would think that everything is great. However, there is concern that the pace of the recovery is too slow to generate sufficient demand for new technology and systems which would result in more IT pros being hired. "

The CEO added, "When we look at the BLS data for the number IT pros employed and compare that with our own independent survey of 98 CIOs in North America a strong case can be made that IT hiring will not improve significantly for some time. Our data shows that fewer than one in ten of the CIOs are looking to expand the size of their IT departments. But on the bright side, we continue to see demand for mid-level security and compliance managers to assist with the implementations of more 'web-enabled' applications and meeting compliance requirements. "

Janco's CIO says, "There is a high degree of uncertainty in the economic climate and CIOs have put the brakes on most new hiring…"


IT Hiring Slows

IT Job Market growth 2017 thru 2023

Change in IT job market size - Number of  jobs created or lost for IT Pros
The latest data for more read on...

Note - data includes the adjustments by the BLS to the initially reported data.


The CEO said, "Janco continues to be concerned that the data shows the labor market participation rate remains at record low levels. Also with "sequester" and the looming taxes increases from the Obamacare there is a possibility that the recovery will falter and job growth could slow. The macro trend for labor participation the lowest since 1979 still is down and the true unemployment rate would be over 11% if those who have dropped out of the labor market. " The CEO expanded with the following caveat, "The year to year comparison of workforce participation shows how deep a hole we are in. Until those percentages turn around, the overall recovery will be weak at best. If that is the case, then there is a strong possibility that IT demand will be low. The CEO concluded, "Dampened, and overall IT job market growth could fall back to the levels of 2010 and 2011. "


Updated


Moving average of IT job market growth
Layoffs abound and there no longer is robust hiring trend for IT Professionals - the economy is slowing. However, there are a number of jobs unfilled by IT Pros. The primary culprit is the lack of qualified individuals to fill the open positions. In our opinion, the IT Job Market is currently at no growth!
Unfilled IT Jobs

IT Job Market Openings

The number of unfilled jobs trend line is down as the economy softens and CIOs and CFOs look to control costs and eliminate requisitions for positions that cannot be filled. There was a major pullback of the number of excess jobs for IT Pros - layoffs have impact on number of unfilled jobs available for IT Professionals.

Labor Participation Rate in the low 60's

Inflation is pushing more people back into the active labor market

Labor Force Participation rate stabilized at lowest level in the last 50 years

101.1 million people in the U.S. are not counted in the labor force - see reasons why not working.

In a continuing survey of CIOs, Janco has found many CIOs have turned to be more cautious in the last month. The CEO of Janco said, "In telephone interviews in late April of 98 US based CIOs we found that many companies are uncertain of which way the economy is going with sequester, tax increases, and unstable world political situation. CIOs continue to closely manage their overall FTE (full time equivalent) headcounts level and adding staff for critical new developments. " He added, "The number of CIOs who are bullish is low. "

Health Care vs. Financial Services Job Growth

The health care job market continues to be a bright spot on the overall US labor market and is one area where IT Pros can go with the flow and find job opportunities. The implementation of Electronic Patient Records is one of the driving forces in the increased opportunities in this area. Janco is an international consulting firm that follows issues that concerns CIOs and CFOs and publishes a series of IT and business infrastructure HandiGuides™ and Templates including a Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Template, Security Template and IT Salary Survey.

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