Even with the increased concern and political rhetoric about flat jobs growth and unemployment in the US, it's no secret that IT professionals are in demand. IT hiring demand has been increasing rapidly throughout the 1st half of this year, up 56% percent since the beginning of the year. Employers and staffing agencies posted more than 251,500 new online job ads for IT professionals in June, up 1.7% from May.

Hiring Demand for Computer Specialists — 4 Years:

Source: WANTED Analytics™

 

Demand for nearly all of the top 20 tech occupations is up strongly from June 2010. Computer Systems Analysts have the greatest overall demand, while Database Architects, Computer and Information Scientists (Research), and Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts showed the highest growth over June 2010.

Top IT Occupations by Hiring Demand— June 2010:

Source: WANTED Analytics™

 

Except for the top two metro areas, New York City and Washington, DC, all of the top 25 metro areas experienced double digit growth over June 2010. The smaller hiring markets led the way in growth, with the Detroit metro area up 62%, followed by the Portland (Oregon), Atlanta, Tampa, and San Diego metro areas.

Top Metro Areas by IT Hiring Demand — June 2010:

Source: WANTED Analytics™

 

Employers and recruiting agencies in some of these smaller markets will have a more difficult time filling these positions than in major markets, due to differences in the size of the local talent pool. We estimate that there are just 8 potential candidates for every new position posted in June in the Atlanta market. Portland has 10 potential candidates, San Diego has 11, Tampa has 12, and Detroit has 18.

Hiring Scale Metrics for High-Growth Markets:

Source: WANTED Analytics™