The tech and information technology sectors are dynamic, continually evolving and viewed as lucrative areas for both employees and businesses. Despite the wave of tech layoffs, which have amounted to nearly half a million job cuts since 2022, IT positions remain among the most in-demand roles in the global job market, according to ManpowerGroup’s recent Employment Outlook survey. Although these sectors are hot, they are currently facing a talent gap, with a shortage of workers specializing in IT, data science and cybersecurity.
To gain insights into the fast-changing, tech labor market and the overall workforce, I spoke with Ger Doyle, head of Experis U.S., a staffing company that is part of ManpowerGroup, a Fortune 500 company.
Doyle has an extensive background in IT and engineering. He began his career as an engineer and advanced through various leadership positions globally, including serving as the chief information officer and senior executive roles at a number of high-profile organizations.
Some of the recruiting services provided by Experis include offering skilled IT professionals on a temporary and project basis to meet its corporate client needs, and permanent recruitment placements with qualified candidates. The company also offers expertise in managing business-critical IT projects implementing new solutions.
Doyle is cautiously optimistic about the overall job market, but anticipates that it will stabilize in the latter half of 2024. As inflation comes down and interest rates start to fall, he expects that companies will want to do more hiring. “As we go into the back half of the year, we will see confidence going back in the market and we’ll start to see a rebound,” Doyle said.
Although he is “cautious” about the job market and economy, he is upbeat about the tech sector despite ongoing layoffs. According to Doyle, demand is running high in the United States for tech workers and there is growth outside of Silicon Valley, with emerging IT and tech hubs in Austria, Peru, South Africa, Greece and Guatemala.
The job market has been going through major ups and downs over the last few years. Doyle emphasizes the high demand for IT talent and specialized digital skills. “Seventy-six percent of IT employers say they are facing difficulty finding the talent they need,” he added, citing data from ManpowerGroup’s 2024 Global Talent Shortage report.
Tech layoffs might make the headlines, but real-time data shows a more nuanced story.
Despite the rampant workforce reductions, the outlook is net positive for individuals seeking opportunities in the technology industry. According to the firm’s employment outlook survey, businesses in the IT industry reported the strongest outlook for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Its research found that employers in the U.S. (34%) reported the strongest hiring intentions across the regions for Q2. Globally, the strongest outlooks for the IT sector (51%) were reported by U.S. employers.
In many cases, the same companies that are laying people off are also still hiring. They’re just laser-focused on hiring to meet demand. This year, a number of top companies that have enacted workforce reductions also announced plans to redirect their investments into generative AI and automation.
Although AI is at its “hype” stage right now, Doyle doesn't see a lot of revenue emanating from it. However, he stated that the proliferation of AI copilots will drive growth and momentum.
“Things are much better right now in Q1 2024 as compared to Q1 2023,” said Dan Bentivenga, a senior technical recruiter at Innova Solutions, in an email interview, reflecting on a “healthier” job market he finds comparable to 2019 and years prior. “The market we saw from 2020 to 2022 was simply not sustainable.”
“Hiring authorities are being pickier, and taking more time trying to find the best possible candidate they can,” he warned about the current employer’s market. “This is causing more intense interviews, and longer periods of time between feedback than most of us are used to.”
Bentivenga shared there is a substantial demand for technical individual contributors, including software, data and cloud engineers. “Companies want to flatten out, peel back the layers of management and prioritize individual contributors, specifically engineers.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that jobs for cybersecurity analysts and software developers are projected to grow, outpacing the average growth rate, indicating sustained demand for tech workers.
There has also been a change in tech hiring, as these jobs are moving away from Big Tech companies, which were previously lifelines against volatility, and shifting toward “small and medium-sized enterprises,” according to American Staffing Association CEO Richard Wahlquist.
The demand for tech skills could also be found outside of the industry. “Virtually all of our industry verticals—banking, financial services and healthcare—have demand here,” Bentivenga stated.
He urged workers to consider contract work as an alternative to traditional full-time employment, as it’s a great “foot in the door” at Fortune 500 companies. “A lot of candidates out there shy away from contracting, but I'd encourage them to give it a shot,” the technical recruiter said. “There's much less of a candidate pool in contracting since everyone obviously wants to be a full-time employee, so you're dealing with much less competition. Plus, the interviews are typically shorter, and time to offer is typically faster. So, if you're actively seeking and haven't had much luck in your search, I'd open yourself to contracting opportunities. You never know what they might land you.”
