RALEIGH – High-tech job openings across North Carolina are falling with the available positions dipping to their lowest total in eight months, according to the latest Tech Talent Trends Alert from the NC Technology Association.
It’s another sign that North Carolina’s economy is slowing as fears about a recession grow.
Some 31,853 jobs were posted in August, falling for the third consecutive month since reaching a record high of nearly 40,000 in May.
That August total also is more than 2,000 fewer year-over-year.
Tech job openings are headed in the other direction nationally, however. Information technology job openings climbed to 1,018,480, or 15% higher year over year.
The numbers fell as North Carolina unemployment rose to 3.5% in August from 3.4% in July as employers in the state layoff more workers and struggle to deal with inflation, supply chain and other issues.
But NCTECH was not ready to label any particular reason for the decline in “help wanted.”
Awaiting a ‘clearer picture’
“Job announcements and layoffs are taking turns as headlines in the media recently and this uncertainty is apparent in the August job posting data. The monthly numbers dipped from July, but are also down in comparison to August 2021, as well as down compared to the US,” said Andrea Fleming, Director of Talent + Workforce Development at NC TECH, in a statement. “Are companies waiting to see where the economy is headed in the fall? Are postings leveling to more sustainable trends? We’ll be watching Q4 data to see how 2022 stacks up against 2021 for a clearer picture without the monthly fluctuations.”
Open jobs fell in most of the state’s major metro areas compared to last year, including Raleigh (down 13% and Durham-Chapel Hill (down 17%).
The numbers, 2022 vs. 2021 openings:
- Charlotte / Concord / Gastonia 12,042 -8%
- Raleigh 9,103 -13%
- Durham / Chapel Hill 3,120 -17%
- Fayetteville 1,242 +38
- Greensboro / High Point 1,225 -24%
- Winston-Salem 746 -9%
- Wilmington 533 +2%
- Burlington 361 -7%
- Greenville 261 +23%
- Jacksonville 179 -7%
- Asheville 166 -46%
- New Bern 112 +56%
- Hickory / Lenoir / Morganton 109 -38%
Top-hiring companies include:
- Bank Of America
- Deloitte
- Wells Fargo
- KPMG
- HCL Technologies
- General Dynamics Information Technology
- Unitedhealth Group
- Accenture
- Truist
- UNC Health Care
Data revisions
NC Tech also that some changes are being made in how job openings are report.
“The Association notes that there has been an update to the tool used to produce these monthly reports. Gartner, the world’s largest technology advisory firm, has made these changes to reflect the trend toward multiple listings in an era of hybrid or remote work. This approach results in a more accurate representation in the number of distinct job openings reported, as duplicate listings are culled from the list,” NC Tech said.
