Talent Shortage Continues To Stymie IT Jobs Growth Rate
Alexandria, VA, February 9, 2022 – While the economy gave a pleasant surprise with an addition of 467,000 jobs in January (and a sizable bump in December based on the revised numbers) technology-related job gains remained flat. The IT sector added only 4,000 jobs in January. This is a sequential increase of a paltry 0.08% to 5,412,300 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 2.35% since January 2021, adding 124,400 IT workers.
Engineering employment grew by 0.15% sequentially to 2,666,200. On a year-over-year basis, engineering employment increased by 3.61% since January 2021, adding 92,900 engineering workers.
“Demand for IT professionals is strong with companies seeking talent to accelerate their digital strategies. However, IT and engineering staffing executives tell us that many critical job roles stay open for extended periods of time requiring extraordinary recruiting efforts to attract candidates,” said Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance. “Companies have to understand that in today’s environment of the Great Reassessment and high workforce expectations, remote and hybrid work policies are table stakes. Additionally, if they want to attract and retain their IT workforce, they must revise their compensation structure to stay competitive in the new normal.”
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 industry 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.
