Tech hiring slows, more IT jobs lost

New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics points to an ongoing slowdown in high-tech job growth as industry watchers say employers continue to focus on skills-based hiring.

According to IT certification and training organization CompTIA, the tech industry shed an estimated 9,162 jobs in July. CompTIA analyzes the U.S. BLS statistics to report on companies in the various tech industries. CompTIA found that companies in the tech services and software development sectors added an estimated 4,000 workers, but that was offset by losses across telecommunications, cloud infrastructure, and other related sub-sectors.

“Although disappointing, the slowdown in hiring is about in line with expectations,” said Tim Herbert, chief research officer at CompTIA, in a statement. “Employers continue to weigh a range of factors in shorter term tech hiring while eyeing longer term growth strategies.”

CompTIA estimates that across the entire economy, tech occupations declined by 14,000 and the unemployment rate for tech occupations was at about 3.2% in July, slightly lower than the national unemployment rate of 4.3%. Among 471,000 active employer job postings for tech positions, some 176,324 were categorized as new postings added in July, according to CompTIA’s Tech Jobs Report analysis.

Demand was high for software developers and software engineers, as well as IT project managers, data analysts, data scientists, and tech support specialists. In addition, CompTIA reports that for the month of July, 46% of active technology job postings did not specify a four-year degree requirement among candidates, pointing to a trend toward skills-based hiring. Key occupations that recorded higher percentages that did not specify a four-year degree include network support specialists (87%), IT support specialists (72%), network and systems administrators (52%), and database administrators (50%).

Janco Associates also analyzed the latest U.S. BLS data and found that unemployed IT pros are finding it difficult to land jobs at their previous compensation and the hiring process is taking several months between landing an initial interview to receiving a job offer.

“Based on our data and forecast models, there will be modest growth (if any) in the IT job market of just under 5,000 new jobs added in the calendar year 2024,” Janco Associates reported. “Hiring of IT pros is hindered by the lack of qualified individuals and a slowing economic picture. This will have a dampening impact on the growth of the IT job market size.”

Separately, Robert Half reported that more than half (52%) of U.S. companies it surveyed in June plan to add new permanent positions in the second half of the year, 43% expect to fill vacated positions, and 57% said they will increase the number of contract professionals on staff. Robert Half’s survey revealed that in the first half of 2024, 69% of respondents indicated they would be hiring for technology roles, and for the second half of 2024, that number has dropped to 58%.

The hiring challenges a majority (86%) of employers encounter, according to Robert Half, include a lack of applications with the required skills for 48%, hiring quickly enough to land the best talent for 48%, and meeting candidates’ salary expectations for another 48%.

“Today’s workers are more selective when it comes to making a career move. Employers should have a strategic hiring plan in place and remain flexible in order to land in-demand talent and keep projects on track and workloads in check,” said Dawn Fay, operational president of Robert Half, in a statement. “While hiring remains a priority, employers shouldn’t lose sight of their current workforce. Skilled talent is still in high demand, so it’s crucial to prioritize retention strategies to keep your best employees on board.”

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