What kind of tech professionals do employers want right now?
According to CompTIA’s monthly Jobs Report, software developers/engineers top that particular list, followed by IT support specialists, project managers, and systems engineers. Here’s the full (and short) breakdown:
You’ll note that, even for these top tech roles, the total number of job postings declined between January and February. That’s not a great sign, especially since the number of tech occupations dipped by 38,000 positions across all industry sectors. Meanwhile, the tech unemployment rate rose to 2.2 percent in February, according to the latest CompTIA analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Yes, companies are laying people off, but it’s important to keep in mind that overall demand for tech professionals remains strong. “As expected, the lag in labor market data means prior layoffs announcements are now appearing in BLS reporting,” Tim Herbert, chief research officer, CompTIA, wrote in a statement accompanying the latest data. “Context is critical. The recent pullback represents a relatively small fraction of the massive tech workforce. The long-term outlook remains unchanged with demand for tech talent powering employment gains across the economy.”
Despite this data, software developers and engineers seem optimistic. According to Hired’s new State of Software Engineers 2023 report, for example, some 68 percent of software engineers said they weren’t concerned about losing their jobs in the next six months. In addition, another 40 percent of respondents said they’d witnessed demand for engineering talent increase in 2022, and they expected that to continue into 2023.
Beyond software developers and engineers, tech professionals realize that organizations across the economy will continue to need their unique skills for many years to come. The trick is to upskill: as revealed by Dice’s latest Tech Salary Report, some of the highest-paying jobs in tech include architects and senior engineers tasked with building and maintaining tech stacks and systems. As long as you keep learning, you’ll open up new opportunities—no matter what the current state of the economy.
