Future of IT Employment

TechServe Alliance (formerly NACCB) interesting take on the future of IT employment.

Date: March 23, 2010

Category: About Consulting

Key IT sectors and related occupations are near the top of the growth charts in recently released 2008-2018 employment projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The management, scientific and technical consulting services sector, for example, is projected to have the fastest growth in employment for all industries.

March2010NewsletterNACCB This consulting segment will also see sizeable growth (the third largest increase among all industry sectors). How sizeable? The BLS predicts the addition of 835,000 employees annually (or 6.2% yearly growth), reaching 1.8 million by 2018. According to the BLS, “Strong job growth is expected due to continued business demand for advice on planning and logistics, implementation of new technologies and compliance with workplace safety, environmental and employment regulations.”

Computer systems design and related services are also predicted to enjoy above average employment growth. The industry is projected to add more than 656,000 jobs each year, totaling 2.1 million new jobs over the decade. Its expected growth is attributed to “increasing demand for the design and integration of sophisticated networks and Internet and intranet sites.”

Computer and mathematical occupations are expected to grow twice as fast as all occupations from 2008 to 2018. The vast majority of the growth (97%) is attributed to the computer-specialist occupations that will add nearly 763,000 jobs by 2018 and are “driven by the continuing need for businesses, government agencies and other organizations to adopt the latest technologies.”