Will there be a jobless recovery for IT in 2011?

January 3, 2011 07:01 AM ET

That's the most important career-related issue facing IT executives today, as they make staffing decisions for next year while also worrying about their own job prospects amid a steady stream of corporate downsizing and offshoring announcements.

Ask any IT pro who is out of work right now, and the answer to this question is a resounding yes. They'll point out that more IT infrastructure and support jobs are being outsourced, and that it's harder than ever to find full-time employment.

Talk to recruiters and placement firms, and a different picture emerges. They report a rise in corporate IT shops looking to hire application developers, project managers and mobile device experts -- if not on a full-time basis, then at least for short-term projects.

We polled five experts in IT hiring trends, and here's what they had to say about tech job prospects for 2011.

Yes, There is a Jobless Recovery for IT

Jerry Luftman, a distinguished professor at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., says that by definition we are in a jobless recovery in the United States.

"The economic gods in Washington have declared that the recession has been over since the summer of 2009, but we also know that the job situation has not been very good," Luftman says. "If we look at the next year or two, it will probably remain a jobless recovery."


More: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9202981/Will_there_be_a_jobless_recovery_for_IT_in_2011_