Dive Brief:
- The tech hiring market showed more signs of recovery in April, CompTIA said in a review of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. Unemployment among IT positions fell to 2.8%, down from 3% in the previous month and 3.5% in February.
- Technology companies added nearly 4,300 workers to their ranks in April, CompTIA found. In a sign of ongoing tech talent demand, employers posted nearly 179,000 new job postings last month, for a total of 415,000 active job postings in tech.
- IT occupations across economic sectors remained essentially flat, shedding 20,000 positions and falling 0.3% from the previous month. In March, employers added more than 200,000 technologists to their ranks.
Dive Insight:
The sentiment remains that any skilled worker in IT can find a position, given the disparity between demand and supply.
IT spending, one of the factors that can indicate trends in tech hiring, is set to reach $5.1 trillion this year, up 8% from 2023, according to Gartner projections. Much of that spending growth can be attributed to the infrastructure upgrades needed to deploy AI.
IT unemployment continues to recover after a February spike
Timing could have at least partially explained the February unemployment spike, when IT joblessness nearly matched national averages, according to Tim Herbert, CompTIA chief research officer.
"Since the unemployment rate counts only job seekers actively looking, it is possible some may have put their searches on hold over the holidays (not counted) and resumed in the new year (counted)," Herbert said in an email. "There are always timing issues with company layoff announcements and when they show up in the labor market data."
But it's unlikely timing is the only factor, Herbert said. Data collection challenges acknowledged by the BLS and frequent revisions could have also played a role.
Despite variations, the trend of falling IT unemployment is expected to hold.
"If tech workforce growth projections hold for the year, there should be a corresponding slide in the tech unemployment rate," Herbert said. "In the immediate months to come, it's reasonable to assume it will hover around the 2.5% – 2.9% range."
Opportunities lie ahead for tech hiring, according to Robert Half International CEO Keith Waddell, including a reacceleration of the pace companies hire for tech positions.
"Job openings data, which is significantly higher now than in prior industry downturns, indicate substantial amounts of pent-up demand for future hiring," Waddell said, speaking Tuesday during the talent consulting company's earnings call.
