Two major occupational groups in the high-tech sector contributed most to the number of jobs in the United States being overestimated by 818,000, according to new government figures.
The hardest hit was the general government information sector, which includes software developers, data analysts and media and film workers, among other occupations. Jobs there fell 2.3 percent, a loss of 68,000 positions. The professional and business services sector saw the largest absolute decline, with a loss of 358,000 jobs, or 1.6 percent, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.
These two categories, which account for more than half of the total downward revision, are significant employers in high-tech fields, including computer systems designers, data scientists, and other technology-related positions.
However, in order to get an accurate picture, more detailed information is required, as the government’s amendment does not provide any information on which professions are affected by the change.
“At the technology sector level, there will be some impact due to the revision of the professional services category,” said Tim Herbert, research director at industry group CompTIA. “However, it is still unclear how much detail is available on the types of jobs being revised downwards.” He added that the revision could include jobs in sales, marketing, administration and other non-technical occupations in addition to technical occupations.
Does not contain the latest cuts
The government’s revision reflects cumulative adjustments to job growth estimates from March 2023 to March 2024. That period means the data does not include recent cuts, such as the elimination of more than 6,000 jobs at Cisco, the 2,000 cuts at UKG, or the layoffs of more than 1,000 employees at General Motors’ software and services division, first reported by CNBC, as well as the layoffs at Dell.
The career prospects for IT professionals are bleak at best unless they have experience in AI or machine learning.
Victor JanulaitisCEO, Janco Associates
Victor Janulaitis, CEO of labor market research firm Janco Associates Inc., estimates that unemployment in IT occupations is close to 6 percent, if not higher. The overall unemployment rate for all occupations is 4.3 percent.
“The job prospects for IT professionals are bleak at best unless they have experience in AI or machine learning,” Janulaitis said.
The government also released county-level employment data on Friday, which may provide further insight into the high-tech job market.
For example, total employment in San Francisco across all occupations fell by 2.1% from March 2023 to March 2024. Despite this, average weekly wages in the region rose by 9.2%. In Santa Clara County in Silicon Valley, wages rose by 14.6%.
Janulaitis noted that San Francisco data suggests that many entry-level and intermediate IT jobs have left the Bay Area. “What’s left are jobs for higher-level IT professionals who can afford to live in the Bay Area,” he said.
Patrick Thibodeau is a TechTarget Editorial writer covering HCM and ERP technologies. He has worked as an enterprise IT reporter for more than two decades.
