'Only 700 New IT Jobs' Were Created In US Last Year

According to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the U.S. added a mere 700 IT jobs compared to 267,000 the year prior. The Register reports: Yet while layoffs have generally kept IT job growth flat for the past year (2023's net 700 comes despite more than 21,000 IT jobs being created in Q4), there's still a surplus of vacant roles, with [tech consultancy Janco Associates] finding some 88,000 remain open. 'Based on our analysis, the IT job market and opportunities for IT professionals are poor at best,' said Janco CEO M Victor Janulaitis. 'Currently, there are almost 100K unfilled jobs with over 101K unemployed IT Pros -- a skills mismatch.'

In other words, while we're definitely dealing with correction from pandemic overhiring, we're also wading into a new paradigm where a lot of tech talent is going to have to retrain because AI is being crammed wherever C-level employees can stick it. Much of the layoff debt to hit IT jobs have come to entry-level positions, especially those in the customer service telecommunications and hosting automation areas. In turn, some of the responsibilities of those jobs are being reassigned to the latest and greatest AIs, says Janco.

According to the tech consultancy, entry-level IT demand is shrinking, though demand for those with AI, security, development, and blockchain skills remain desired. 'Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning IT Professionals remain in high demand,' said Janulaitis. Still, plans to further replace humans with AI workers at the entry level are hardly far-fetched, with multiple reports finding much the same. Those caught up by this year's tech layoffs seem to have a simple solution on their hands, as far as Janco's data suggests: Retrain for AI. Problem solved... until the next big thing comes along.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.