Study: Finding IT Workers Are Harder Shoes to Fill

By Gail Repsher, Staff Writer


JULY 27 ? A new study by the Information Technology Association of America indicates that information technology jobs are much more difficult to fill than other types of jobs.


The first phase of a four-part study released by ITAA of Arlington, Va., revealed both IT and non-IT organizations had difficulty hiring technology-savvy workers, and it took, on average, nearly 37 percent longer to fill IT-related jobs.


The study, conducted with consulting firm William M. Mercer Inc. of Louisville, Ky., surveyed the fourth quarter 1999 practices of 75 companies in 34 states.


"The IT job shortage continues to impact virtually every sector of our economy," said ITAA President Harris Miller in a written statement. "In an age where intellectual capital is often a company's primary asset, it is a concern that the capital is a scarce, sometimes rare resource."


On average, 76.5 percent of companies offered signing bonuses to IT workers, compared with 52.5 percent for non-IT workers. Large organizations were most likely to give such bonuses to IT workers, and they reported doing so more than 90 percent of the time.


"Higher base pay increases, sign-on bonuses and other perks are reported for the average IT worker, all of which point to a continued shortage of skilled workers in the United States," said Haig Nalbantian of Mercer's Human Capital Strategy Group. "It will be interesting, as we report on this study over time, to see how the numbers change and how that reflects the on the job market for IT employees and companies that hire them."


The ITAA study will continue with other assessments made over a two-year period.