The job market for information technology professionals shrank in January for the first time in more than two years, a sign that IT personnel face the same scrutiny as workers in other occupations and industries as companies are slowing down their spending.
The IT sector lost 4,700 jobs last month, according to a report by consulting firm Janco Associates Inc., which based its findings on data from the US Department of Labor.
Until January, IT roles were mostly protected from mass layoffs at big tech companies like Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet. Inc.
and even companies outside of the tech sector like the Dow Chemical Company Inc.
and manufacturer of industrial and consumer products 3M Co.
Capital One Financial Corp.
last month laid off about 1,100 “agile” group employees in its technology department, which had focused on software development methodology using faster and more flexible processes. The McLean, Va.-based bank said these roles would be absorbed by its existing engineering teams and product managers.
The IT jobs that continue to be cut or automated are those in data center operations and telecommunications, and tech leaders are looking to cut “non-essential” executives and staff, not workers with technical skills like engineers, said Victor Janulaitis, general manager of Janco. .
Yet employment across the tech sector has not faltered, according to IT trade group CompTIA. And despite the slowdown in IT jobs, Janco has found that more than 109,000 IT jobs remain unfilled due to a lack of qualified applicants, reflecting the lack of IT skills in areas such as cybersecurity and software development. .
“There is excess demand for IT labor, which will continue to be in favor of those seeking IT employment,” said Christopher Gilchrist, principal analyst at Forrester Research. Inc.
That demand generally means that IT workers will also remain less exposed to layoffs than employees in other departments, Gilchrist said.
Some CIOs say competition for IT talent is still fierce and recruiting new talent is a priority even as some companies implement cost-cutting measures.
“The talent war is real,” said Sriram Sitaraman, CIO of semiconductor software maker Synopsys. Inc.
Mr Sitaraman said developing and engaging talent is a priority, although the company plans to do so “with reduced recruitment costs”.
Other tech leaders like Jason Conyard, the CIO of software giant VMware Inc.,
said they were focused on training current staff with new skills such as machine learning and automation, a trend that companies across industries have leaned into in a tight job market.
Monica Caldas, CIO at Liberty Mutual Insurance.
Photo:
Liberty Mutual Insurance
“The skills that got us where we are today are not the skills that will get us where we are going,” Conyard said.
Although some companies are laying off staff, Mr Gilchrist said tech leaders in particular “don’t need to be too aggressive with short-term cuts that will inevitably force them to catch up in the long run”. Instead, they can “reposition” their current staff to focus on the company’s strengths, he said.
Monica Caldas, CIO of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., said that while the Boston-based insurer has developed in-house training programs in areas such as cloud computing and software development, it still focuses on hiring engineers and people with data and cybersecurity skills.
“Not only do we need to deliver capabilities to propel the business forward, but we need the best engineering tools, modern architectures, and people in the right roles to respond to changing market conditions,” said Ms. Caldas.
Write to Belle Lin at belle.lin@wsj.com
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