NC high-tech job openings drop another 6.5% in August

The losing streak of advertised positions has reached five months – “a clear sign that the IT economy is going into the wrong direction.”

So concludes the latest “IT Job Trends” report from the North Carolina Technology Association and two talent management firms, TEK Systems and SkillPROOF.

The bottom line: North Carolina's high-tech job sector isn't going to be giving any kind of real boost to the state's economy - at least this year.

In fact, the number of jobs available has now dropped below those of a year ago for two consecutive months. The “summer of recovery” as proclaimed by politicians a year ago has disappeared in maybe what we should call “summer of reality” in 2011.

Job openings fell to 3,440 last month, down from 3,680 in July. A year ago, IT openings stood at 4,560.

Noting that the general job market is showing no improvement either with North Carolina’s unemployment rate in double digits and the national rate at over 9 percent, NCTA said: “There are a number of signs that the general job market is weakening – and so is the IT job market.”

Job openings climbed steadily in January, February and April before the falloff began.

“This is the fifth consecutive month of decline leaving little hope for any job market expansion for the rest of the year,” the report said.

Nationally, IT job openings “turned south” as well, falling 2.2 percent, NCTA and its partners noted.

A ray of hope for job seekers is demand for IT architecture and consulting specialists where demand in North Carolina grew 1.9 percent to 530.

However, a year ago there were 900 such openings.

Compared to last month, specific skill set demands for workers in C++/V++ and Microsoft SQL Server improved. But every other skill set demand in the top 15 of most openings fell.