IT job openings 28% below 2012 numbers, report shows

Information technology jobs remain difficult to find even as the unemployment rate across the Triangle and the state continues to decline from record-high levels of the 2008 recession.

The latest IT Job Trends report from the North Carolina Technology Association shows a slight uptick in advertised openings across the state for April, but the market remains sluggish compared to a year ago.

Demand is up in only a handful of categories.

According to data provided by talent management firm SkillProof, the daily average of advertised IT job openings in April improved 0.8 percent from March to 3,960. (Nationally, advertised openings increased 1.3 percent.)

However, a year ago the daily average was 5,510.

And in April 2011 the total was 4,620.

No Big Change in Future Trend?

At least the trend line is up, with openings increasing each of the last four months from just north of 3,000 back in December. But don’t get too excited.

“The overall change in volume was too small to suggest a change in expected hiring,” the report says.

But Brooks Raiford, NCTA’s CEO stressed the positive.

“Though slight, the April results mean that the first four months of the year have each shown an increase in openings,” he said. “This pattern has not been achieved in the same period during the past two years, so this is an encouraging trend.”

As one would expect, the SkillProof numbers show demand is up in only a few categories.

IT architect and consulting job openings hit 720 last month, up from 710 the previous year.

Hardware engineering positions climbed to 270 from 180.

And the “miscellaneous” category increased to 80 from 60.

But the drop in other categories was steep.

Examples: Systems engineering and support jobs plunged to 950 from 1,570, and software development opportunities fell by nearly half to 680 from 1,250.

Sales and marketing openings fell sharply as well to 230 from 380. When sales and marketing jobs drop, what does that say about corporate suite attitude about the economy?

Plunging Demand for Many Skills

Inside the specific skillset category, the news wasn’t good, either.

Not one of the “Top 15 Needed Skills” showed more openings with demand off sharply even in hot areas such as virtualization and Linux.

The list with skillset followed by April 13 openings and April 12 in parenthesis: