Pandemic Recovery Technology Employment Trends

As many people anticipated, we are seeing a significant rise in technology employment opportunities within the domestic and international IT workforce. As we embrace the idea of a return to normal, the COVID-19 vaccine is proving to be an excellent economic stimulator for new job creation.

The US Department of Labor jobs report, released in April, showed an increase of more than 900,000 new positions in March. While the report is not exclusively focused on technology employment, it is a key predictive indicator regarding the balance of 2021. (April’s report noted a more modest, yet still growing number of new positions with 266,000 jobs added.)

Consumer spending serves as a driving factor for tech job creation, specifically within the areas of hospitality, travel, and financial services. Technology roles within healthcare are also underserved, and many positions remain open.

Technology security professionals remain in extremely high demand. Cyberattacks, a trend accelerated by COVID-19, have accelerated the need to hire for these roles, in addition to IT support and data analytics. The need is skyrocketing, but demand for these skill sets far outweigh the supply.

Many companies are refocusing with more certainty towards completing their journey to the cloud. Cloud engineering will continue to be a critical skill set that requires more skilled individuals than the open market can provide. Leaders within technology departments are more focused than ever on creating workforce contingency plans and utilizing all the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Preparedness will forever be a key factor for IT executives.

While the pandemic may have temporarily slowed the demand for top-tier IT talent, it certainly didn’t stop. The technology skills gap still proves to be the greatest challenge facing employers. Despite the pandemic, most employers site finding qualified technology professionals as their biggest risk, and several feel it is as difficult as it was 20 months ago. Organizations are embracing technology residency consultants and highly skilled temporary resources as a mitigating option to overcoming the skills gap. The ability to scale up technology experts for partial or full-time roles has proven to be extremely valuable.   

We are seeing the positive effects of the Covid-19 vaccine. With states on the journey to a return to normal, the demand for skilled technology professionals is going to continue to be a challenge and a driving factor for corporations to optimize technology teams and retain talent. Filling gaps created by canceled projects and uncertainty brought on during the pandemic is going to continue for the foreseeable future.