Dive Brief:
- Nearly 3 in 4 U.S. organizations plan to ramp up tech hiring plans this year, according to a CompTIA analysis published Tuesday. The company surveyed 500 HR, learning and development professionals.
- As organizations carry out their technology modernization plans, more than one-quarter of businesses say their tech hiring will increase significantly this year.
- Overall hiring trends suggest businesses will grow headcounts this year, as 71% of businesses expect to carry out growth hiring this year compared to just 66% in 2023.
Dive Insight:
Following a tepid 2023 that started with large layoff waves and deferred IT projects, in 2024, enterprise technology demand is recovering, boosted by the data infrastructure services that underpin generative AI use.
Though February labor data showed a rare uptick in IT unemployment, reaching 3.5%, subsequent monthly reports showed a return to the baseline. In April, the IT unemployment rate fell to 2.8%.
Among the drivers of recovery in IT hiring are the start of new projects — pushed to 2024 in the wake of economic turmoil and inflation — and the rush to adopt generative AI technologies.
Across the economy there are more than 415,000 active job posts for technology positions, according to CompTIA. Employers added 170,000 of those open roles in April, another sign illustrating the gap between available workers and enterprise need for skills.
