Information Technology Employment At All-Time High

Information technology jobs rebound.

Information technology employment in the United States reached an all-time high in January 2012, gaining 13,300 jobs for a total of 4,107,700, according to TechServe Alliance.

January’s record surpasses the previous all-time high set just as the financial crisis was beginning in September 2008 when information technology employment reached 4,088,600, according to the organization. On an annual basis, information technology employment grew by 3.4% in 2011 and 1.5% in 2010.

Information Technology Employment At All-Time High

“I am thrilled that IT employment has surpassed its previous all-time high–an encouraging sign not only for the IT services industry, but the economy at-large,” Mark Roberts, TechServe Alliance CEO, said in a press release. “Given strong demand for IT talent, high wages these professionals command and the benefits of IT to the broader economy, policymakers should do all they can to create an environment which encourages such work to be performed in the United States.”

The number information technology jobs can be a clue to the direction of the overall jobs market since IT workers are found in virtually every sector and industry in varying degrees.

The TechServe Alliance is a collaboration of information technology services firms, clients, consultants and suppliers. These latest information technology employment numbers are based on data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to TechServe Alliance. The organization provides this note on its information technology employment index:

“TechServe Alliance’s IT Employment Index is the first specific measurement of IT employment. This unique measurement of total IT employment is created monthly by studying the ongoing staffing patterns of a dozen IT and computer related occupations in 22 industries and industry sectors employing significant numbers of IT workers including the manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, financial, information services, business and professional services, and education and health industries. The monthly IT Employment Index is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, which is subject to monthly revisions, and therefore, the Index is revised accordingly. The IT Employment Index is also subject to annual revisions and was benchmarked this month, February 2012, with the publication of the BLS January 2012 employment report, which included revisions to several years of employment data. The next revision will be published in February 2013. (August 2011 value of the IT Employment Index incorporates striking workers who were officially not counted during the survey week, but did have a job in August.)”