Growth in the number of IT contractor positions is helping stabilize the number of overall tech job postings. The number of tech jobs posted on jobs site Dice.com rose 3.1% in February, its first month-over-month increase since late last summer. Tech job listings rose to 57,337 as of February 2, up from 55,609 in January. However, helping to drive that modest increase was a 7.3% gain in the number of contractor positions, which climbed to 23,955 listings as of February 2, from 22,333 a month earlier, according to the Dice.com report.
In uncertain times, companies are looking for flexibility in their payrolls to continue with critical projects, and that usually means an increase in demand for contractors. For example, in February, contractor positions accounted for 41.8% of all job postings on Dice.com. That percentage for contractor job postings could eventually reach 50% by the end of the year. There was a similar trend after the Internet bubble burst in early 2000, when the number tech jobs overall shrank but the slice of contractor positions soared to roughly half of all job postings on Dice by mid-2003. In general, contractor jobs serve as a leading indicator of the overall labor market, both during economic upturns and downturns.
Some tech positions are still in demand, particularly for people skilled in mobile technologies. There is also demand for high-tech engineering jobs. However, the timing of placing candidates in those jobs is now taking longer than before since employers are also issuing a more extensive wish list in what they seek in a high-tech contractor. In the past, a prospective employer would seek three or four primary skill sets when submitting an order to hire a contractor. Now employers want additional skills for the same level of pay, as well as stipulations relating to the length of the contract, number of hours to be worked and money to be paid, he said.
For more information please visit: http://www.cpccci.com
