April 2011: The Technology Job Count Inches Up

IT Hiring Market Report - April 2011 The Dice IT Hiring Market Report is a roundup of news related to technology hiring, compiled from various sources by the Dice Editorial Staff.

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.According to a monthly index of IT jobs published by TechServe Alliance, IT employment added more than 3,000 jobs in February, the 14th consecutive month-over-month climb. During the month, IT employment stood at about 3.9 million jobs, reflecting a year-to-year increase of 4.3 percent. "The resurgence in demand has begun to create shortages in certain skill sets,” the report notes, “a challenge employers have not had to deal with for some time." …And California Benefits Good news about California's IT rebound keeps coming, and it's helping to fuel an improvement in state employment overall. Among the latest stats: California added nearly 100,000 jobs in February, and the state's unemployment rate dropped to 12.2 percent from 12.4 percent in January. The decline was led in part by a hiring surge in high tech, said the California Economic Development Department. A much-read article in the New York Times reported that many Silicon Valley firms are scrambling to find tech experts in all categories, reeling them in with dot.com-bubble-style perks. Is Efficiency Taking a Toll on Data Center Staffing? Technology is starting to render some IT professionals expendable. In a survey of 360 IT managers conducted by the Association for Computer Operations Management (AFCOM), a data center managers group:

• 37 percent reduced their data center staffs over the past three years
• 29 percent kept their staffing levels the same
• 35 percent increased staff
• 74 percent of data centers increased the number of servers they use

The bottom line? Two thirds of the data centers are managing more systems with the same number of people -- or fewer. Popular Certifications Get Pricier Later this year, Oracle will require more hands-on training at an additional cost of thousands of dollars. The rule goes into effect on August 1 and covers the Java Architect, Java Developer, Solaris System Administrator, and Solaris Security Administrator certification paths. Required courses will last between three and five days and cost from $2,000 to nearly $4,000. AT&T + T-Mobile = Layoffs AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile is designed to yield $3 billion in cost savings. While AT&T acknowledges there will be "natural attrition" among the companies’ combined workforce, some analysts expect big headcount reductions. One contends that fully half of the jobs lost will be through layoffs. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has acknowledged that the new company will have to shed some markets and employees, although he has yet to be specific. Analysts say back-office workers are the most likely to find themselves redundant. Today T-Mobile has 37,795 employees, while AT&T has 266,590, 56 percent of whom are unionized.