IT Jobs Show Gains in October

The number of IT jobs in the U.S. grew by more than 10,000 last month, reaching a total of 3,903,000, according to the latest IT Employment Index from IT trade group TechServe Alliance.

The rise in IT employment for October represented a gain of 0.3 of a percentage point from the previous month and a 2.2 percent gain from a year ago. The annual gain compares with just a 0.6 increase in total non-farm employment. Further, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has revised its employment data for September, reporting an increase of 3,600 IT jobs, not a loss of 200 jobs as previously announced.

In the midst of an economy that’s still struggling to recover, IT jobs are showing vigorous growth, says TechServe Alliance. Though some analysts pulled back on their IT employment forecasts following the BLS’s original numbers for September, the alliance remained bullish, now pointing out that the revised September forecast and the strong job growth in October have confirmed its positive forecast for future IT job gains.

At least three of the key IT job sectors tracked by TechServe Alliance showed growth over September. The number of jobs in computer systems and design services grew by half a percentage point to reach a total of 1,470,900, according to BLS statistics. Positions in data processing, hosting, and related services rose by .20 of a percentage point for a total of 245,600 jobs. And the telecommunications sector grew by .21 of a percentage point to hit 916,800 jobs altogether.

On an annual basis, though, only the computer systems and design services sector showed growth, with the number of jobs rising by 2.87 compared with October of last year. Jobs in the data processing, hosting and related services sector declined by 1.29 percentage points, while those in telecommunications declined by 5.19 percentage points.

TechServe Alliance's IT Employment Index is based on data from the BLS as well as the staffing patterns of IT and computer jobs in 16 different industries.