TechServe says only 600 IT jobs created in U.S. in November; consultant says back office IT jobs in U.S., Europe will be cut in half by 2014

Computerworld - WASHINGTON -- The latest government labor report shows lower-than-expected job growth in the U.S. last month, along with a rising unemployment rate, and experts say that IT workers were not immune to that trend.

TechServe Alliance, an IT industry group based in Alexandria, Va., said that its analysis of the U.S. Department of Labor report released on Friday found that IT employment increased by only 600 jobs in November on a base of 3.9 million jobs. Overall, U.S. employers added 39,000 jobs last month, according to the Department of Labor.

TechServe, which conducts its own monthly analysis of government labor data, said IT employment has increased by 2.5% so far this year.

Why the anemic jobs growth in IT?

The Hackett Group, a business advisory and consulting firm based in Miami, places at least some of the blame on offshore outsourcing, which it calls a contributor to a "jobless recovery."

Using data from its own clients and other sources, Hackett examined IT hiring trends among U.S. and European public companies with annual revenue of $1 billion or more, and concluded that by 2014 there will be only 2 million back-office IT jobs in the U.S. and Europe, down from 4 million today.

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By Patrick Thibodeau