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IT Job Growth a Mere Trickle in November Due to Ongoing Supply Shortages
IT Hiring Challenging and Projects Impacted Because of Talent Scarcity, says TechServe Alliance
Alexandria, VA, December 8, 2021 – After a strong recovery in IT employment since last August, employment growth in the IT sector slowed down to a trickle in November. The sector added 2,200 workers last month, a sequential increase of 0.04% to 5,385,400 jobs, according to TechServe Alliance, the national trade association of the IT & Engineering Staffing and Solutions Industry. On a year-over-year basis, IT employment was up 3.17% since November 2020, adding 165,600 IT workers.
Growth in Engineering employment also slowed down significantly to 0.16% sequentially, adding 4,200 workers to end the month at 2,658,800. On a year-over-year basis, engineering employment increased by 3.38% since November 2020, adding 86,900 engineering workers.
“While uncertainty about the impact of the Omicron variant did somewhat impact the IT sector, the slowdown in IT jobs market is more related to the supply squeeze on available talent rather than demand,” said Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance. “Our members are telling us that their clients’ IT hiring needs are still unmet and projects are getting delayed because of lack of qualified IT professionals. “At this point, there is little likelihood the domestic talent pipeline will significantly expand in the foreseeable future. This is causing not only strong wage growth but also a need to offer a flexible work environment. In this tight labor market, what candidates want really matters and could make or break the success of IT initiatives,” Roberts added.
The following table presents information about the total number of jobs in certain sectors that provide a significant amount of employment for IT and engineering professionals.
Technical note: TechServe Alliance’s IT Employment Index and Engineering Employment Index are the first specific measurements of IT and engineering employment. These unique measurements of total IT and engineering employment are created monthly by studying the ongoing staffing patterns of a dozen IT and computer related occupations in 22 industries and industry sectors employing significant numbers of IT workers and nearly two dozen engineering occupations in 30 select industries and industry sectors employing significant numbers of engineering workers. Both the monthly IT Employment and Engineering Employment Indices are based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, which is subject to monthly revisions, and is revised accordingly. Both indices are also subject to periodic revisions and annual rebenchmarking that includes revisions to several years of employment data, which also may incorporate new occupational definitions. Both indices were re-benchmarked going back several years through January 2021 data. In addition, both indices are subject to minor revisions to March and April data. The next major revision will be published in February 2022.
ABOUT TechServe Alliance
TechServe Alliance is the national trade association of the IT & Engineering staffing and solutions industry. IT & Engineering staffing and solutions firms count on TechServe Alliance to keep their leadership informed, engaged, and connected. TechServe Alliance serves as the voice of the industry before the policymakers and the national and trade press. By providing access to the knowledge and best practices of an entire ndustry and tapping the “collective scale” of its members, TechServe Alliance supports its members in the efficient delivery of best-in-class IT & Engineering staffing and solutions for clients and exceptional professional opportunities for every consultant.