Demand for IT Skills in Healthcare Slows, But Talent Shortage Remains

After 2 years of rising demand and reaching an all-time high in September 2013, demand for IT jobs in healthcare and social assistance has started to decline, according to WANTED Analytics. As of January, there were about 14,100 job listings, which was down 17% since last January. Despite drops in the number of job listings, there are still over 2,000 employers competing for IT talent in the healthcare sector.

Most employers were looking for candidates with knowledge of Structured Query Language (SQL). This skill was referred to in 11% of IT jobs in the healthcare sector. Microsoft SQL was the second most sought after skill, represented in 6.5% of job ads. Below is a breakdown of the IT skills that were most commonly required in healthcare job ads. We also analyzed how many candidates exist in the current workforce with that skill set in the healthcare sector.

IT Skills Most Commonly Required in Healthcare Job Ads

: SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Of the skills listed, Structured Query Language had the highest number of candidates, 11.9% of IT workers in the healthcare sector. Despite having the largest candidate pool of the skills shown, this only calculates to be about 4 people for every job opening, making it difficult for Recruiters to build a talent pipeline. Actually, each of the skill sets listed have a relatively small talent supply in relation to demand for that ability.

With a limited candidate supply, you'll want to source candidates in areas that have the largest talent pools. One of the most advertised IT jobs in healthcare was Computer Systems Analyst, which commonly requires candidates to have Structured Query Language skills. There are only 2 locations that have over 100 candidates in the current workforce that are Computer Systems Analysts in the healthcare industry with SQL knowledge, New York (NY) and Washington (DC).

Candidate Supply Heat Map of Computer Systems Analysts with SQL Skills

: SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

If you are recruiting within the healthcare sector for IT talent, you can see what recruiting conditions look like in your area with WANTED Analytics.

Comment by Tim Spagnola on February 11, 2014 at 10:15pm: Thanks for sharing this Ashley. I asked for Healthcare and I got Healthcare. WANTED data is always very interesting.