The number of US IT jobs increased by just 2% between
the first quarter of 2003 and the first quarter of 2004, and demand
for IT workers is expected to slow during the rest of the year,
according to a survey by the Information Technology Association of
America (ITAA).
The overall size of the US IT workforce grew from about 10.3
million to 10.5 million jobs from 2003 to 2004, according to an
ITAA survey of 500 hiring managers from both IT and non-IT
companies across the US.
But hiring managers indicated they will seek to fill a total of
230,000 jobs in 2004, down from a total of about 500,000 IT jobs
filled in the past year. The net increase of about 200,000 jobs in
the past year takes into account about 300,000 layoffs.
"It's not the dramatic upturn from the recession many of us had
hoped for," said ITAA president Harris Miller.
Among the factors in the slow job growth include US companies'
continuing concerns about the economy, rising costs of health care
and other benefits, increasing productivity among workers and
offshore outsourcing, Miller said.
In March, the ITAA released a study saying only about 2.5% of US
IT jobs have been moved overseas. The study also suggested that in
the long term, twice as many US jobs will be created than lost
because of outsourcing.
Nearly 89% of new jobs came from non-IT companies, such as
banking, finance, manufacturing, food service and transportation
firms. Non-IT companies accounted for 79% of the IT workforce,
according to ITAA survey.
Competition for IT jobs points to the need for IT workers to
keep their skills up to date, through coursework and
certifications, Miller noted.
"The IT workers have an additional burden to be the stewards of
their own careers," he added. "What you knew 10 years ago might
have been great 10 years ago and almost useless today."
Miller compared the changing nature of IT work to the medical or
legal professions. Doctors and lawyers are required to update their
skills frequently, and to be competitive, IT workers should
consider similar continuing education plans, even though they are
not required to update their skills, Miller said.
The ITAA report is available at
www.itaa.org/workforce/studies/04wfstudy.pdf.
Grant Gross writes for IDG News Service