IT Hiring Market Report - February 2012 The Dice IT Hiring Market Report is a roundup of news related to technology hiring, compiled from various sources by the Dice Editorial Staff.
App Development Creates Jobs...
The demand for smartphone and social networking applications has created 466,000 American jobs since 2007, according to an analysis by technology trade group TechNet. That estimate includes 311,000 jobs at companies that actually make the apps, and another 155,000 created in a ripple effect across the economy. The study says the boom is in its infancy, with a hungry market of 845 million people eager to try more tools and games.
…and Apple App Developers Reap $4 Billion
Apple has paid out more than $4 billion to developers over time, including $700 million in 2011’s fourth quarter alone. On Christmas Day, Apple says, more than $140 million worth of apps and content were downloaded through iTunes. There are now 550,000 apps in total available for iOS, running on the more than 315 million iOS devices sold thus far.
IT Employment Reaches an All-Time High
With 13,300 jobs added in January, IT employment reached an all-time high of 4,107,700, according to TechServe Alliance. The previous high, of 4,088,600, was hit in September 2008. Last year, IT employment grew by 3.4 percent in 2011 on an annual basis. The group says the numbers are “an encouraging sign not only for the IT services industry, but the economy at large."
Midsize Firms Choose Technology Over Hiring
Technology spending is more important than hiring for most executives at midsize companies today, as they seek to control labor costs while boosting productivity. Deloitte says that 70 percent of executives it surveyed say productivity has increased since the recession began, but the two most-cited reasons for the increase were improved business processes and technology. Just 38 percent said "strategic hiring in critical areas" offers a path to higher productivity.
Proposed Federal Budget Includes IT Spending Cuts
U.S. government spending on IT would decline 1.2 percent next fiscal year under the Obama Administration’s budget proposal. The budget calls for $78.9 billion in technology spending next year, with the Defense Department taking the greatest hit. The administration has been trying to hold federal IT spending steady while increasing efficiency through the use of cloud computing and mobile devices. IT expenditures rose 7.1 percent a year on average from 2001 to 2009, but “has effectively been halted” with no growth from 2009 to 2013, according to budget documents.
Dell Ramping Up in the Valley
Dell plans to expand its Silicon Valley operations after quickly reaching capacity with 700 employees at its Santa Clara R&D facility, which has been open only since October. The company will expand next door this summer, and will continue adding hundreds of workers each year through acquisitions and new hires. Dell expects to have about 1,500 employees in the facility within the next several years.