Employment data from the first quarter of 2015 suggests that the technology industry’s hiring momentum continued virtually unchecked into the new year, with the unemployment rate averaging 2.3 percent—the lowest rate recorded since the second quarter of 2008, when the unemployment rate hit 2.1 percent.
If that news wasn’t good enough for tech professionals, the unemployment rate continued to dip over the course of the quarter, from 2.5 percent in January to 2.0 percent in March. Web developers, computer-systems analysts, computer support specialists, network and systems administrators, software developers, computer information systems managers, database administrators and network architects all saw their unemployment rates decline.
Programmers proved a notable exception to these general declines, with their collective unemployment rate climbing from 2.5 percent to 6.5 percent between the fourth quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015.
A lower unemployment rate could translate into higher salaries for tech professionals, as employers compete more aggressively to attract those with the right combination of skills. For much more data and insight into this quarter’s trends, check out Dice’s Q1 2015 Tech Employment Snapshot (PDF).
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