IT Hiring Demand Improves 1.1%

By Charles Thibault on September 29, 2009 in Computer/Math/IT, Hiring Demand Indicators.

Hiring Demand for Computer and Mathematical Occupations has improved 1.1% over the past month, according to data from WANTED Analytics.

There are still 117,000 fewer online job ads for Computer and Mathematical workers compared to a year ago – a drop of 38.7%. However, a month ago, the year-over-year decline stood at 39.8%. This relative improvement of 1.1% is a simple way of controlling for seasonal fluctuations. Over the same period, National Hiring Demand for all occupations improved by 2.9%.

Source: WANTED Analytics

The following double-bar chart compares September's year-over-year drop (burgundy) to August's (gray). Burgundy bars that are shorter than gray ones indicate relative improvement since last month. The chart can be enlarged by clicking on it.

Click chart to view full size

Several occupations are worth noting.

Network and Computer Systems Administrators saw a significant jump in postings in September. Postings improved 10%.

Source: WANTED Analytics

Conversely, both types of Computer Software Engineers – Systems Software and Applications – saw a precipitous drop over the past couple of weeks. Applications Software Engineers dropped 5.8%, and Systems Software Engineers dropped 7.4%.