Hiring Demand for "Computer and Mathematical Occupations" grew by 6.5% in October on a seasonally unadjusted basis according to data from WANTED Analytics 2.0. This confirms the positive trend we saw begin in June, when Hiring Demand starting growing at an average monthly rate of 4.9%. This positive trend has affected most US metro areas.
WANTED Analytics tracks the number of online job ads on over 1,000 employment websites:
Source: WANTED Analytics
IT Hiring Demand grew faster than the rest of the economy – national Hiring Demand, all Occupations considered, grew by 4.0% over the same period. Removing the positive effect that IT workers had on the national average, national Hiring Demand grew by only 3.3%. (In other words, IT occupations contributed 0.7% to the overall growth in national Hiring Demand).
The table below details changes in Hiring Demand by occupation. Occupations are defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and their Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System. Five occupations saw increases in Hiring Demand, while three saw drops. Drops were concentrated in "Computer Software Engineers", both "Applications" and "Systems Software".
| SOC | SOC Description | Percent Change, OCT (NSA) |
|---|---|---|
| 000000 | All Occupations | 4.0% |
| 150000 | Computer and Mathematical Occupations | 6.5% |
| 151071 | Network and Computer Systems Administrators | 9.5% |
| 151021 | Computer Programmers | 9.1% |
| 151061 | Database Administrators | 7.9% |
| 151081 | Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts | 7.7% |
| 151041 | Computer Support Specialists | 5.7% |
| 151051 | Computer Systems Analysts | -1.2% |
| 151031 | Computer Software Engineers, Applications | -5.9% |
| 151032 | Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software | -27.0% |
What's more, IT Hiring Demand is growing faster now than it did during the "boom times" of 2006/2007. The following table and weekly time series chart, where the count of online job ads is taken as a natural log to facilitate trending analysis, clearly shows this:
| Period | Monthly Growth Rate |
|---|---|
| Oct.2006 – June 2008 | +1.2% |
| July 2008 – May 2009 | -6.5% |
| June 2009 – Current | +4.9% |
Source: WANTED Analytics
The upward trend has affected most US metro areas, although not uniformly. Looking at the 'Top 5' US Metro Areas in terms of job ad volume, IT Hiring Demand over the past 5 months has grown the most in Boston (+8.5%), followed by New York (+7.0%), Washington (+4.9%), Los Angeles (+3.6%) and Chicago (+1.7%).
Source: WANTED Analytics
The graph below, taken from WANTED Analytics, details the number of new online job listings for 4 of the 5 occupations showing growth in October:
Source: WANTED Analytics
Both types of "Computer Software Engineers" saw declines in October. These were the only two IT occupations to experience a significant drop in October.
Source: WANTED Analytics
All Entries
Are these numbers typical for most metropolitan areas or are there significant variances?
Hello Stephen G -
Excellent question. I've added some text and a graph to fill in the analytical gap you've highlighted.
Please note that WANTED Analytics subscribers have the ability to customize data by geographic area to meet their individual needs (Census Region, State, Metropolitan Area, County, City). I've examined the 'Top 5' markets:
"The upward trend has affected most US metro areas, although not uniformly. Looking at the 'Top 5′ US Metro Areas in terms of job ad volume, IT Hiring Demand over the past 5 months has grown the most in Boston (+8.5%), followed by New York (+7.0%), Washington (+4.9%), Los Angeles (+3.6%) and Chicago (+1.7%)."