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Apparently the global coronavirus pandemic isn’t affecting the IT software/hardware/services business the way it’s devastated others.
More than 27,900 new IT jobs were created in the first quarter of 2020 in the United States, even with the COVID-19 work shutdown. About 6,700 of those were created in March alone.
After reviewing the data and conducting a number of conference calls, Park City, Utah-based industry analyst Janco Associates has adjusted its forecast for overall IT job market growth to just above 95,000 for all of 2020.
“IT pros are in a position to take advantage of the ‘work at home’ approach of the COVID-19 shutdown,” Janco CEO Victor Janulaitis said in a media advisory. “Also, many companies are directing IT functions to facilitate the support of non-IT professionals with new and enhanced internet driven applications for telecommuters.
“The demand for contractor help in this effort is high as well. All of this has put IT professionals in positions that are safer from elimination if the shutdown continues for an extended period.”
There has been a noticeable pickup in development activities across the board with remote development and team management, Janulaitis said. Software companies are advancing new releases without being encumbered with the overhead and inefficiencies associated with the traditional office development environment. Developers are now focused on solutions and getting new releases of applications implemented. That approach could be the spark that drives a wave of growth of IT jobs over the two or three quarters, he said.
Some Management Jobs Put on Hold
“In a series of conference calls with C-level executives, we noticed that some key positions at the senior and middle management levels were put on hold because of concerns on how to add members to the IT management teams with the limitations of people to people contact and travel that most companies have instituted,” Janulaitis said.
The total IT job market is now over 3.68 million positions within the U.S., Janulaitis said [see chart at top left; to see a larger view, right-click on it and select “View Image”]. One sector that has been shrinking is the number of telecommunications positions, which continues to erode as more of those functions are impacted by AI. A recent media advisory from Corner Bowl Software describes how AI and automation of monitoring and management of telecommunication no longer require a large staff. The focus is now on management of telecommuting workers.
“Janco has just updated its DR/BC Template and IT Infrastructure Policies to provide tools for CIO and IT Managers to identify risks, protect people interacting with the business (both internally and externally), and provide ways for the business to continue to operate,” Janulaitis said.
More information on the IT job market from Janco can be found here.
Janco is an international consulting firm that follows issues of concern to CIOs and CFOs and publishes a series of IT and business infrastructure HandiGuides and Templates including detailed IT Job Descriptions, IT Infrastructure, Policies and Procedures, Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Template, Security Template and its semi-annual IT Salary Survey.