Number of IT jobs increasing slightly

Not clear that the recession is over

Janco reports that the May 2011 BLS data shows a slight increase (1.16% 7,300) in the number of IT-related jobs in April. The CEO of Janco, Victor Janulaitis said, “The increase as reported by the BLS is 1.16% versus the .79% from the prior month.  However, the data does not reflect the recent increases in energy costs.  From the data it is not clear that IT employment is signaling that the recovery has started.”   He added , “The fact that total employment for telecommunications, data processing, information services, and system design sectors has risen by 18,700 jobs (seasonally adjusted) since January 2011 and by 31,700 in the last 12 months is a good sign.”

The job picture is mixed for technology professionals. The data shows that telecommunications is still a depressed market with a loss of 34,600 jobs since May 2010 while there has been a compensating increase of 59,700 jobs in the computer systems design and related services sector.  Janulaitis said the disconcerting fact is that if you look at the data that was just published and factor in BLS adjustments, the December data shows a decline of 1.28% in IT jobs versus an increase of 0.36% that was originally reported.”

Janco feels that the recovery has not taken hold and the IT job market will be soft for at least one more quarter. Janco predicts there will be more churn in IT staff as CIOs accelerate their move to more flexible staffing models. CIOs are outsourcing more technical work, including managed IP services such as VoIP and VPNs. They are hiring more contractors for desktop and security services, and they are putting more applications such as remote backup in the cloud. At the same time, they are looking to hire IT people with business and analytical skills, such as risk management and project management. CIOs report that they're having trouble hiring IT people because either they can't find IT professionals with the right business skills or they can't afford them. All of this means more turnover in IT departments.

Employment Data December 2010 Adjustments

Employment Data April 2010 to April 2011

Healthcare and Financial Services Sector Employment Data