Demand for IT Workers May Be Slowing, but It’s Still Strong
There will be a sharp drop in openings for information technology workers and in the number of IT positions that go unfilled because qualified candidates are unavailable, an industry trade group says.
But a report to be released today by the Information Technology Assn. of America also says that IT hiring remains robust and that there will still be a shortage of qualified IT personnel in the months ahead.
There are reportedly more than 10 million IT workers in the U.S. employed at both high-tech companies and traditional businesses.
Among their duties are running company intranets and e-mail services, fixing computer problems and protecting systems from hackers and computer virus attacks.
The tech jobs the IT association says are still hot include technical support worker and network designer and administrator.
The group has more than 26,000 affiliate corporate members in the U.S. In October, its members successfully lobbied Congress for an increase in visas to allow foreign information technology workers to hold jobs in this country.
Not all industry observers report falling IT demand. A recent national poll of more than 1,400 chief information officers forecast a 21% increase in information technology hires in the second quarter of this year, a rate of increase virtually unchanged from the previous two quarters.
Despite the continuing demand, it’s clear that IT job recruiters and job seekers are feeling the effects of the economic slowdown.
“For the first time in a really long time, there are very talented people out there who are not working,” said Fran Pomerantz, who runs the Pomerantz Group, a Santa Monica new-media executive search firm.
Among the unemployed is 61-year-old Eugene Pacelli of Essex County, N.J.
“I’ve been on the beach for two months and expect to be there for one more month,” said Pacelli, who tests the internal software of bank brokerages and insurance companies. “I’ve never been out of work more than one month before this.”
Some applicants are changing their job-hunting tactics. Pacelli is now just trying to establish contact with businesses, hoping for future interest. Michael Armentrout, a Dallas-based database administrator, will consider lowering his fees and is taking more training to improve his resume.
Recruiting firms sense a sea change in the job market and face new challenges to prove to their clients that they can provide talented applicants quickly.
Clients are “restructuring and rethinking their plans based on revenue projections,” said Dayle Bowen, chief executive of Tapistry.net, a recruiting firm that has worked with 1,000 companies, including Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and other large high-tech firms. “Big recruitment efforts have been largely put on pause.”
Robert Montgomery, president and chief executive of Headhunter.net, noted in a recent speech before e-recruiters that there is a growing emphasis on recruiting so-called passive candidates in many types of jobs.
“Although many are secure in their current positions,” Montgomery said, “48% are still looking for a better opportunity, and 78% would consider switching jobs today.”
Some people out of work have grown discouraged.
“I used to network,” Pacelli said. “Now, we commiserate.”
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IT Job Projections
Changes in the information technology industry indicate a growing need for some professionals, but declines in most job categories:
Tech writing: -72.6%
Tech support: -64.6
Digital media: -61.6
Database administrator: -59.4
Total: -43.9
Programming: -37.1
Other: -32.2
Web developer: -25.0
Enterprise systems: +62.2%
Network administrator: +12.7
