Talent Shortage Continued to Dampen Tech Employment Growth in June
Despite the buzz about a recession and high-profile news about layoffs, U.S. businesses added 372,000 jobs in June. It came as no surprise that the job growth rate in the IT sector remained flat in June. According to TechServe Alliance, the national trade association of the IT & Engineering Staffing and Solutions Industry, employment barely inched up 0.05% from May. On a year-over-year basis, IT employment was up a mere 0.48% from June 2021, adding a net of only 25,700 jobs in the year’s period. The Engineering sector showed a year-over-year job growth rate of 4.16%, with the addition of 108,400 jobs over the course of the year.
However, the flat growth rate in tech employment since the pandemic can be misleading, said Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance. “These numbers are wholly a reflection of the lack of supply of talent and not demand from businesses, as is clearly reflected in the 2.2% and 2.5% unemployment rates for IT and engineering professionals, respectively.”
While acknowledging the high level of economic uncertainty on the horizon, Roberts said technology employment is still strong. While there may be industries where demand for talent slackens, the overall need for technology professionals will continue to outstrip supply for the foreseeable future. At this point, employers cannot become complacent and should continue updating their talent attraction and retention policies to stay competitive. “As we know, these days being competitive is more than just the pay rate, but a willingness to be flexible such as allowing fully remote or hybrid work,” Roberts added.