Job openings rebound in June, but not for the tech sector

Job search site Glassdoor reported that job openings have surged by 10% in June, with only one sector showing a decline: Tech.

The increase puts job openings on par with levels seen in 2017, having climbed rapidly since bottoming out early in the month. That doesn’t mean everything is back to normal, though.

“While this increase is an encouraging sign that employers are hiring additional workers on top of rehiring furloughed workers, demand for new workers is still down 23.1% from the pre-crisis peak in early March,” Glassdoor said. 

The author of the report, Glassdoor’s senior economist and data scientist,  Daniel Zhao, said that employers and job searchers should temper excitement by looking at the current state of COVID-19 in the United States: It’s surging. “The question facing the labor market now is whether resurgent outbreaks will stifle the fragile recovery.”

SEE: Return to work: What the new normal will look like post-pandemic (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Gains and losses: Not good news for tech

Several sectors have posted considerable gains in hiring, with the largest coming in face-to-face industries like travel and tourism, which grew by 11%, beauty and fitness, which grew by 7.5%, and consumer services, which grew by 7.6%. The increases, Zhao said, are because businesses are rushing to make up for lost time.

Unfortunately for tech professionals, available jobs across the industry are down by quite a bit. IT openings were down by 4.8%, computer software and hardware jobs were down by 3.9%, and internet and tech jobs were down by 2.2%. 

The tech sector losses were largely attributable to small and midsize businesses, which were bearing the brunt of lost jobs. “For much of the recovery, hiring at the largest tech companies has stabilized job openings for the tech sector at large,” Zhao said, noting that increases at large employers haven’t been enough to offset the massive losses coming from SMBs. 

SEE: Top IT certifications to increase your salary (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

The tech job declines at smaller businesses highlights an overall trend that the report mentioned: SMBs as a whole are continuing to struggle. 

31% of employers posted new jobs since the beginning of June, while 33% reduced openings over the same span of time. “This rebound in job openings despite similar shares of employers increasing and decreasing job openings points to a stronger recovery for larger employers,” the report states. 

Even so, remote tech job openings increased by 22.9% in June. If you’re hunting for a tech job locally try widening your search and looking at larger companies that can more easily hire a remote workforce.

Tech News You Can Use Newsletter

We deliver the top business tech news stories about the companies, the people, and the products revolutionizing the planet.
Delivered Daily

Sign up today

Also see

• Dark Web: A cheat sheet for professionals (TechRepublic)
• Top IT certifications to increase your salary (free PDF) (TechRepublic download)
• Checklist: Employee Termination (TechRepublic Premium)
• Remote working 101: Professional’s guide to the tools of the trade (ZDNet)
• 5 best standing desk converters for 2020 (CNET)
• The 10 most important iPhone apps of all time (Download.com)
• Tech history: Check out our coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Article source: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/job-openings-rebound-in-june-but-not-for-the-tech-sector/#ftag=RSS56d97e7