The Talent War and IT growth
So…we have near-sourcing, or in-sourcing as others like to call it, putting more IT jobs back in the U.S. market. We have thousands of baby boomers retiring, or getting ready to, and in general, our nation is seeing continual growth in the IT sector and raising rates for contractors.
Our metro area is certainly no exception. I mentioned last time that for certain, top-level IT positions, the unemployment rate is less than 2.5 percent. Here are a few more stats to chew on: the unemployment rate for database administrators is about 2.4. For computer network architects, that unemployment rate is a mere 0.2 percent!
System analysts, software and Web developers, and those providing back-end support, are also way better off than candidates in so many other industries.
The 2011 Forbes study that ranked Minneapolis as a top metro area to find employment in was definitely on track as far as IT is concerned. The technology sector continues to grow, as almost every company has to rely on information technology to some extent. We have so many diverse industries here with IT needs.
But it isn’t just our area experiencing this continual growth. Take San Francisco and New York as examples, where 2.56 and 2.64 percent more tech jobs were created in January of this year.
For some top-level IT positions, knowledge has become power. There are more and more IT openings, yes, but less people floating around to fill them. If they are floating, they’re immediately nabbed. The talent war rages!
IT consulting fees also on the rise
That’s the name of the game, definitely, in the IT consulting sector. Rates are on the rise because consultants are in such high demand. In an industry like Information Technology, which already has higher costs associated with it, people will have to continue to pay out for those services.
Where does this put candidates? In exactly the right spot! From a recent study in our area, of the executives surveyed, almost 60 percent of them admitted to IT recruiting challenges. That’s a big jump from the previous quarter, when only 17 percent of interviewed executives said they were facing this difficulty.
So like other recruiters out there, we’re facing our challenges—feeling the squeeze from both ends, from the hiring managers who are told they have a budget to stick to, and from the IT consultants, who think their skills command such and such amount.
But for IT candidates, this is your time. Make sure you’re out there, that your talent shows on your resume, and that you’re continually reading about your industry and staying up to date.
If you’re in a full-time position right now, there may be a big opportunity for you to transition into a contracting role and make more money. We’d love to help you though the transition and see if it makes sense for you. Call us today to get the conversation started!