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Report: Close to 4,000 IT Jobs Lost in November
November ended with a net loss of 3,900 U.S. employees in the IT sector, according to analysis of U.S. government-compiled employment stats by Janco Associates.
According to the management consulting firm, the telecommunications sector took the biggest hit with 2,900 jobs lost, followed by the information services market decreasing by 1,500 positions. The data processing and hosting segment was reduced by 1,300 workers.
A positive note for November's numbers, as compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, comes in the computer system design field, which generated 1,800 additional jobs. While the 3,900 IT jobs was a substantial loss, it wasn't as bad as October's figure, in which 5,100 IT jobs were lost.
M.V. Janulaitis, CEO of Janco Associates, pointed to the overall shaky economy as a reason for the jobs decrease.
"In many companies IT is viewed as a cost center with head counts and capital budgets under constant scrutiny," he said. "IT jobs are typically not being cut, rather openings are left unfilled."
Many companies are adjusting their workforce for the first half of next year due to this air of uncertainty, he added.
"Some Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are feeling continued pressure to control costs and are looking ahead to 2012 hiring and projects," Janulaitis said in a prepared statement. "They are beginning to push those expenses back until the 3rd and even 4th quarters."
According to the Janco Associates report, overall employment is growing slower than projected, especially in the second half of 2011. This result was due to a drop in labor productivity in the first half of the year.
While most of the IT market will continue to slide, according to Janco Associates, the one bright spot is in healthcare IT, which is estimated to invest $40 billion in spending by the end of the year and grow by 24 percent between 2012 and 2014. This growth will arise due to new government regulations, the updating of electronic health records and the installation of modern mobile health applications.
Also, for the year overall (up to the end of November), the entire IT market has increased its job force by 37,300 people (this figure is seasonally adjusted).