IT job market is still shrinking but not as quickly as last year
(2025/01/15)
- Reference: 1736969351
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/01/15/it_job_market/
- Source link:
The IT jobs market has shrunk for a second year in a row, says tech consultancy Janco Associates, but at least things weren't as bad in 2024 as they were in 2023.
Nearly 71,000 IT-specific roles have been eliminated in the past two years, Janco [1]said in a report released Friday, as a downward trend continues in the industry. However, only 22,300 of that shrinkage took place in 2024, with 48,600 jobs lost in 2023.
Janco CEO M Victor Janulaitis [2]said last year, when his firm published its annual report for 2023, that much of that year's losses were down to layoffs and AI. Layoffs were less of a concern in 2024 (though that's [3]relative - 152,664 tech sector professionals were cut loose in 2024 compared to 264,220 in 2023), but AI continues to be an issue.
[4]
"With all the new advances in technology, many jobs have been eliminated or automated out of existence," Janulaitis said. "No longer are there scores of monitors of status, KPI metrics, and SLAs as many of those processes are automatically checked and when exceptions are noted, emails or text alerts are sent out to address the issue."
[5]
[6]
In short, AI automation has eliminated lots of rank-and-file IT jobs, and they probably aren't coming back.
"No longer are IT organizations populated with secretaries, data-entry operators, administrative monitoring clerks, and a massive help desk staff," Janulaitis added. "Rather the new roles are data architect, AI developer, e-commerce specialist, and similar roles."
[7]
IT job market gains from 2023 to 2024 - Click to enlarge
In keeping with that trend, Janco reported that there continues to be demand for anyone with skills in AI and developers with knowledge of "new technology," as well as for internet processing and security professionals. Most hiring, the firm noted, isn't happening at top-tier tech companies, which have more cash to invest in automation, but rather in small to midsize enterprises.
Regardless of the size of the employer, AI does continue to have an effect on entry-level IT work, as much of that has fallen victim to automation.
The tech unemployment rate is down, but not by enough
Much of the data Janco presented falls in line with CompTIA's most recent tech employment [8]report , which noted that tech hiring had increased in the past few months, but was still down overall.
According to CompTIA, the tech unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest level since November of 2023, at just 2 percent, while the national unemployment rate across all industries has held steady at 4.1 percent.
[9]Billionaire food app CEO wants you to pay for the privilege of working with him
[10]Tech titans assemble to decide which jobs AI should cut first
[11]That position you just applied for might be a 'ghost job' that'll never be filled
[12]Wanted. Top infosec pros willing to defend Britain on shabby salaries
CompTIA also reported a recent decline of 6,117 jobs across all roles within the technology industry.
Janco pointed out that, while IT unemployment was down toward the end of 2024, it was above the national average for several months prior, which the firm believes is "a bad omen" for the IT job market heading into 2025 and a new US presidential administration.
[13]
"From our interviews with over 86 CFOs and CIOs, we found that the election results were viewed as positive," Janulaitis noted.
Still, those positive vibes likely won't be enough to offset the current IT jobs market, which Janco predicts will continue to shrink in the coming months. Too few jobs have been added of late, the firm noted, to absorb all of the unemployed IT professionals still looking for work.
Given the continued decline in open IT roles, our January 2024 advice still holds: It might not be a bad idea to add some AI skills to the toolbox - it's what recruiters still want.
[14]
Or, if machine learning isn't your slice of the pie, [15]consider a career in cybersecurity - there are [16]lots of open roles to be filled there, too. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://e-janco.com/press/2025/2025-01-10-jobs-eliminates-from-it-job-market.html
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/08/700_it_jobs_us/
[3] https://layoffs.fyi/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/cxo&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z4g-E1PLBgOPLAjC-o4ypAAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[7] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/01/13/janco-it-job-gains-2023-2024.png
[8] https://www.comptia.org/newsroom/press-releases/tech-employment-ends-year-with-uptick-in-hiring-comptia-analysis-finds
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/21/zomato_deepinder_goyal_job_ad/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/04/ai_replacement_jobs/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/03/ghost_job_epidemic/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/29/gchq_needs_advanced_cybersecurity_professionals/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/cxo&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z4g-E1PLBgOPLAjC-o4ypAAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/cxo&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z4g-E1PLBgOPLAjC-o4ypAAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/05/white_house_cyber_jobs/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/11/mind_the_talent_gap_infosec/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Nearly 71,000 IT-specific roles have been eliminated in the past two years, Janco [1]said in a report released Friday, as a downward trend continues in the industry. However, only 22,300 of that shrinkage took place in 2024, with 48,600 jobs lost in 2023.
Janco CEO M Victor Janulaitis [2]said last year, when his firm published its annual report for 2023, that much of that year's losses were down to layoffs and AI. Layoffs were less of a concern in 2024 (though that's [3]relative - 152,664 tech sector professionals were cut loose in 2024 compared to 264,220 in 2023), but AI continues to be an issue.
[4]
"With all the new advances in technology, many jobs have been eliminated or automated out of existence," Janulaitis said. "No longer are there scores of monitors of status, KPI metrics, and SLAs as many of those processes are automatically checked and when exceptions are noted, emails or text alerts are sent out to address the issue."
[5]
[6]
In short, AI automation has eliminated lots of rank-and-file IT jobs, and they probably aren't coming back.
"No longer are IT organizations populated with secretaries, data-entry operators, administrative monitoring clerks, and a massive help desk staff," Janulaitis added. "Rather the new roles are data architect, AI developer, e-commerce specialist, and similar roles."
[7]
IT job market gains from 2023 to 2024 - Click to enlarge
In keeping with that trend, Janco reported that there continues to be demand for anyone with skills in AI and developers with knowledge of "new technology," as well as for internet processing and security professionals. Most hiring, the firm noted, isn't happening at top-tier tech companies, which have more cash to invest in automation, but rather in small to midsize enterprises.
Regardless of the size of the employer, AI does continue to have an effect on entry-level IT work, as much of that has fallen victim to automation.
The tech unemployment rate is down, but not by enough
Much of the data Janco presented falls in line with CompTIA's most recent tech employment [8]report , which noted that tech hiring had increased in the past few months, but was still down overall.
According to CompTIA, the tech unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest level since November of 2023, at just 2 percent, while the national unemployment rate across all industries has held steady at 4.1 percent.
[9]Billionaire food app CEO wants you to pay for the privilege of working with him
[10]Tech titans assemble to decide which jobs AI should cut first
[11]That position you just applied for might be a 'ghost job' that'll never be filled
[12]Wanted. Top infosec pros willing to defend Britain on shabby salaries
CompTIA also reported a recent decline of 6,117 jobs across all roles within the technology industry.
Janco pointed out that, while IT unemployment was down toward the end of 2024, it was above the national average for several months prior, which the firm believes is "a bad omen" for the IT job market heading into 2025 and a new US presidential administration.
[13]
"From our interviews with over 86 CFOs and CIOs, we found that the election results were viewed as positive," Janulaitis noted.
Still, those positive vibes likely won't be enough to offset the current IT jobs market, which Janco predicts will continue to shrink in the coming months. Too few jobs have been added of late, the firm noted, to absorb all of the unemployed IT professionals still looking for work.
Given the continued decline in open IT roles, our January 2024 advice still holds: It might not be a bad idea to add some AI skills to the toolbox - it's what recruiters still want.
[14]
Or, if machine learning isn't your slice of the pie, [15]consider a career in cybersecurity - there are [16]lots of open roles to be filled there, too. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://e-janco.com/press/2025/2025-01-10-jobs-eliminates-from-it-job-market.html
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/08/700_it_jobs_us/
[3] https://layoffs.fyi/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/cxo&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z4g-E1PLBgOPLAjC-o4ypAAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/cxo&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z4g-E1PLBgOPLAjC-o4ypAAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/01/13/janco-it-job-gains-2023-2024.png
[8] https://www.comptia.org/newsroom/press-releases/tech-employment-ends-year-with-uptick-in-hiring-comptia-analysis-finds
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/21/zomato_deepinder_goyal_job_ad/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/04/ai_replacement_jobs/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/03/ghost_job_epidemic/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/29/gchq_needs_advanced_cybersecurity_professionals/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/cxo&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z4g-E1PLBgOPLAjC-o4ypAAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/cxo&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z4g-E1PLBgOPLAjC-o4ypAAAAFY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/05/white_house_cyber_jobs/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/11/mind_the_talent_gap_infosec/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
It looks like you are trying to jump off a bridge.
The Man Who Fell To Earth
Do need help with that?
Anonymous Coward
Its not just low end jobs. A lot of companies are cancelling graduate jobs. My daughter is due to graduate with a first in Computer Science with AI from a top tier uni and finding it very difficult to get a job. She did a years work placement with an enterprise company last year with a view to returning to a job. The company has cancelled their grad program but have offered a glowing reference which hasn't helped much. Over 50 applications made so far and just nothing new appearing at the moment, so many responses saying in the current climate that recruitment has been frozen.
ComicalEngineer
IMHO, the AI bubble will burst at some point once organisations realise that it's little more than a waste of computer power.
BTW, my experience of AI chatbots is also that they are nothing more than something designed to get in the way of speaking to one of the few humans in an organisation who can actually solve the issue.
E.ON, are you listening?
cschneid
"Help" AI chatbots are the new phone menu.
And yet.....
cookiecutter
Apparently they're a shortage of it skills and companies have to be allowed to offshore & bring in 100,000s of cheap staff.
The government should put a 500-1000% tax on any job offshored & charge companies like wipro, tata, Infosys et al, £100k/ year for every visa given out
"No longer are IT organizations populated with secretaries, data-entry operators, administrative monitoring clerks, and a massive help desk staff ," Janulaitis added
The enshitification continues. Every AI 'help' bot I have interacted with has done bugger-all to help and simply wasted my time unitl a human dealt with it.