Every company looking for IT staffing already knows what TechServe Alliance announced recently: Unemployment in the IT sector, as defined by TechServe, stands at 2.9%
TechServe also broke down the numbers by skill set:
Computer Programmers 4.7%
Network & Computer Systems Administrators 4.4%
Computer Support Specialists 3.9%
Software Quality Assurance Analysts & Testers 2.9%
In a news release noting that the rate of growth in IT employment has slowed recently, TechServe CEO Mark Roberts voiced what so many employers have been thinking.
“The talent supply challenge is very real,” Roberts said. “While the shortage of workers is a new development for many labor categories, in IT, it has been a crisis in the making for years. Given this supply side challenge, I anticipate we will continue to see anemic growth rates for the foreseeable despite very strong demand.”
Overall, Americans are quitting jobs at a record pace. As the Washington Post recently noted, “The phenomenon is being driven in part by workers who are less willing to endure inconvenient hours and poor compensation, quitting at this stage in the pandemic to find better opportunities elsewhere.”
The Post article quoted an economist who said, “This really elevated rate of people quitting their job is a sign that workers have lots of confidence and they have relatively stronger bargaining positions then they’ve had in the past. There’s lots of demand, and people are seizing that opportunity and quitting their job.”
HRDive confirmed the high in late September, noting that:
Both white-collar and blue-collar jobs anticipate payroll growth in the next three months, most notably: information (+62%), financial services (+58%), transportation & utilities (+58%), construction (+56%), professional and business services (+54%) and wholesale and retail trade (+49%).
A 62% growth in IT hiring seems impossible over the next three months considering the already high level of employment in the sector. Chris Walters, Senior Vice President of LRS Consulting Services, offered his thoughts about the final quarter of 2021.
“During the fourth quarter we saw what seems like an even larger disconnect between what the workforce desires in terms of compensation and flexibility and what employers are willing to give,” Chris said. “However, the companies that are responding to these changes are definitely getting the top talent.”
Chris continued by saying, “The other factor in hiring great people was speed. In a market where candidates receive multiple offers, the faster a company can get them through the interview process and make an offer the better chance they have to hire their top candidate. ‘Talent war’ is a term that is often overused, but that is certainly what it feels like right now.”
LRS Consulting Services is always your ally in the talent wars. Call us today for help!