Slow Growth in IT Services Jobs is Still Growth
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What's that adage? "There's no such thing as bad publicity as long as they spell the name right." Well, at least I got my name spelled right. |
Craig McMurtry, a technical evangelist who blogs for Microsoft, wrote the following under the headline Who Knows What to Believe?
"I subscribe to a bunch of IT industry e-mail newsletters. Yesterdays mail from CIO Insight was headed, Slowdown in IT Hiring. Today's mail, from the same source was headed, "IT Employment Hits New Highs. Turns out that the same dude wrote both—Eric Chabrow. Does even he not read his stuff?"
Yes, I do. The first story cited was a blog entry I wrote that carried the headline: Growth in IT Services Jobs Slows in 2007. Slow growth is still growth, meaning more jobs are being created.
The second story, entitled Damn the Economy! IT Employment Rises to New Heights, was our exclusive analysis of 2007 Bureau of Labor Statistics data that shows the number of employed IT workers soared to nearly 3.8 million as the IT jobless rate plunged to a decade low of 2.1 percent.
The government takes the pulse of American employment in two monthly surveys, one of businesses and the other of households. The business or establishment survey looks at particular sectors—such as IT services firms—whereas the household survey queries individuals and is used to determine the monthly and annual unemployment rates. I don't see any conflict. Both reports show a healthy employment picture for the vast majority of American IT professionals.
Now, I just hope I correctly spelled McMurtry.
Comments (3)
Mr. Chabrow,
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You should stand for elections; you know how to mince words that appear believable and also maintains you sitting on the fence. You can start as a speech-writer, perhaps.
SBC
Posted by SBC | January 15, 2008 12:31 PM
I understand what you are saying about slow growth still being growth, but growing slowly is hardly the same as "soaring." While soaring doesn't have to mean dramatic growth, only new heights, definition 2 of "soar" is "to rise or increase dramatically (as in position, value, or price)," and that is what is often inferred when talking about growth as soaring.
Posted by LC | January 15, 2008 5:30 PM
Salaries in IT remain flat and have not kept up with inflation since 2002. This is hardly a prospering job sector.
The "low unemployment rate" is an artifact of normal attrition as people leave the field and a sharp decline in new entrants as smart young workers chase better carreer prospects.
Meanwhile, corporate executives lobby relentlessly for increases to the H1 and L1 visa programs to bring more foreign workers into the field and keep wages down. Offshoring of work to India continues without letup.
The younger workers aversion to the tech field is unfortunately well-founded. There is no future in jobs which can be offshored.
Posted by MP | January 27, 2008 11:27 PM