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IT Job Growth Slows

The demand for IT workers has slowed in the past year, but don’t panic: There are still plenty of jobs out there.

A study by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) found that companies plan on hiring 900,000 new IT employees this year, a startling reduction from Y2K, when companies hired 1.6 million IT workers. The ITAA’s results are based on interviews with 685 hiring managers from within and outside the IT industry.

It wasn’t all gloom and doom for techies. “While the current economic slowdown has diminished demand, such demand for new talent persists,” the report states, adding that of those 900,000 open positions, 425,000 will remain unfilled.

Bob Cohen, ITAA senior vice president, echoed the report’s findings. “There’s been some shift in the seller’s market. It’s not as brisk or aggressive as it was last year, and it should be understood by people coming into the job market that the activity level may not be as frenetic in terms of generating employer interest and multiple phone calls from employers.”

Cohen added, however, “that shouldn’t be confused with the notion that jobs aren’t out there, that we’re seeing a loss of jobs. That’s not the case.”

The study did find a shift in what employers are looking for. Cohen said hiring managers are moving toward hiring people with skill sets that relate more to infrastructure, such as networking, building enterprise systems and integrating supply chains. The study also found that a four-year college degree is the best preparation for landing an IT job, but industry certification is still important.

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