By Abby Lombardi on September 17, 2012 in Occupations.

Recently, we had a request to look at hiring demand for Project Managers in the US. In August, there were more than 44,000 available job ads posted online for Project Manager positions, a 6% increase in the number of ads compared to August 2011. Although this isn't a new high in demand, the chart showing the number of available job ads each month shows that hiring has been very strong in 2012.

Hiring Demand for Project Managers – 4 Year Volume of Job Ads

Project Managers are required across most occupations, with IT, Management, Construction, Architecture and Engineering, and Finance fields seeing the highest demand. The most commonly advertised project management job titles are:

1. Project Manager
2. Senior Project Manager
3. Information Technology Project Manager
4. Technical Project Manager
5. Infrastructure Project Manager
6. Construction Project Manager
7. Project Manager Business Analyst
8. SAP Project Manager
9. Project Manager II
10. Senior IT Project Manager

It's probably pretty obvious that Project Managers need project management skills. This is the most commonly required skill set in online job ads for these professionals. Other currently in-demand skills include:

1. Microsoft Project
2. Microsoft Office
3. Microsoft PowerPoint
4. Quality Assurance (QA)
5. Software development
6. Risk management
7. Adobe LifeCycle ES
8. Program management
9. Change management
10. Project planning

Employers will likely see difficulties when recruiting for these positions and are likely to spend a longer time sourcing potential candidates and interviewing. Although,  this will vary by specific field. For example, Management and Engineering related Project Managers remain online for an average of 43 days – or just over 6 weeks across the US. In comparison, IT and Construction project management jobs are posted for about 5.5 weeks, and Financial project management ads stay online for 5.4 weeks.

Below is a heat map of our Hiring Scales™, showing the level of overall difficulty to recruit Project Managers. From this, you can see that these jobs will be fairly difficult to recruit. Some of the places with the most difficult conditions are Topeka, Holland-Grand Haven, Vallejo-Fairfield, Olympia, and Charlottesville. The best overall conditions are in Mobile, Evansville, Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, Oshkosh-Neenah, and Albuquerque. If you are recruiting for Project Managers and are in one of the areas with difficult conditions and a longer time-to-fill, you can consider sourcing talent from nearby or nationwide areas that are experiencing better conditions. Try targeting your job ads to attract candidates in other areas that may be willing to relocate. You can also consider having the position located in a different office (if your company has multiple locations) or allowing the candidate to work remotely.

Heat Map of Hiring Scales for Project Managers – Difficulty to Recruit

If you want to read more about hiring trends or recruiting conditions for a specific industry, occupation, skill set, or location, let us know! Email us your request and we'll pull the information for you!

Are you looking for project management professionals? Get a free trial of WANTED Analytics™ to see what hiring trends are like in your area and how long it will take to fill these positions.

Already an Analytics user? Log in and search for "Project Manager" as a keyword. Don't forget to check the box to search in job titles! Add your industry, location, or specific skill requirements for results specific to the job you are recruiting for.

Links to this article (2)

• September 18, 2012 - www.scoop.it
  How Difficult Will It Be to Hire a Project Manager? | Flash Business & Finance News | Scoop.it
  
• September 18, 2012 - www.scoop.it
  How Difficult Will It Be to Hire a Project Manager? | Contingent Workforce News | Scoop.it
  

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