1. Q3/2011
agile
IT AND STAFFING TRENDS IN
ATLANTA’S TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY
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IT employment in Metro Atlanta up as
overall jobs decline
Atlanta area companies looking
for highly skilled IT employees on
permanent basis
Third quarter survey results from Atlanta
IT executives show mixed trends
IT employment in Metro Atlanta up as overall jobs decline
The number of IT jobs in Metro firm, the number of IT jobs in the The ‘market share’ of IT jobs – that
Atlanta continues to grow despite Metro Atlanta area grew 2.3 percent is the proportion of all jobs that are
an overall local job market that is year-over-year in Q32011 to 92,433 IT jobs – incrementally increased to
stagnant to the point of slightly jobs. For the same period, Agile esti- 4.14 percent in Q32011. This ratio
retreating. mates that the number of all jobs in has been steadily growing for the past
Metro Atlanta declined 1.4 percent several years regardless of the Great
According to Agile, a leading Atlanta- to about 2.23 million. Recession of 2008-2009.
based IT recruitment and consulting
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2. “Atlanta is one of the country’s lead- Proportion of IT Jobs in Metro Atlanta
ing markets for IT services,” remarks
Tricia Dempsey, founder and CEO of
Agile. “Anecdotally, we call upon and
talk with many of the region’s lead-
ing IT employers, and we hear first-
hand how they are increasing efforts
to improve efficiency, profitability, and
competitiveness. This translates into
an increasing reliance on improv-
ing information technology systems.
These efforts mean companies need
more highly skilled IT professionals.”
Atlanta area companies looking for highly skilled IT
employees on permanent basis
As one of the region’s leading IT the wake of the Great Recession. By by the dramatic rise in the number
recruitment and consulting firms, early 2011, employers acknowledged of contract assignments in Q22011,
Agile’s extensive database of job that they needed more IT profession- while the number of contract-to-hire
openings serves as a quality indi- als to move their businesses forward, and permanent placement openings
cator of the direction the local IT but were still unsure of the long-term were somewhat steady in the first half
job market is heading. economic outlook. Due to the uncer- of the year.
tainty of the future, IT organizations
Agile’s data suggests that local decided to fill more of their require- Perhaps as a sign of confidence in the
employers are shifting the manner ments through contract/temporary future, the trend switched in Q32011
in which they staff IT projects and assignments, versus making longer- as employers decided to mitigate
fill IT job openings. In 2010, no clear term commitments via contract-to-hire their amount of contract/temporary
trend emerged as companies were arrangements or hiring for permanent assignments and shifted gears in
still adjusting their staffing priorities in positions. This approach is evident favor of recruiting more permanent
staff members. However, at least
one other factor could be at play to
Types of IT Job Openings
account for this change. Realizing
that quality, high-skilled IT profession-
als in Metro Atlanta are at a premium,
local employers may feel obligated
into making the commitment to fill
positions on a permanent basis. The
trend to hire permanent IT staff is con-
firmed by data that shows a nearly
70 percent sequential increase in the
number of openings for permanent IT
jobs in Q3 as the number of openings
to fill contract assignments declined
by about 30 percent. The number of
Q3/2011 IT and Staffing Trends in Atlanta’s Technology Community gotoagile.com 2
3. requests to fill contract-to-hire posi- Days to Fill IT Openings
tions was relatively stable with an
increase of less than 10 percent.
Another important metric Agile closely
monitors is the length of time it takes to
locate and place the right candidate.
A ‘days-to-fill’ metric can be seen as
an indication of both the quality of
available candidates as well as the
skill level that local employers require
for new employees. This metric is
not looked at in isolation since alone
it does not give any significant clues
about the local IT candidate market. of the jobs being filled, the time-to-fill combinations of skills and experience.
For example, if the time it takes to metric can provide the best informa- Naturally it can take a longer period of
locate and on-board an IT candidate tion about how the local IT employ- time to locate the best candidate to fit
is changing, it could be because: 1) ment market is developing. the employer’s job opening for more
the skill mix of the available IT profes- complex and demanding IT positions.
sionals has shifted or 2) employers’ An analysis of our data reveals that
needs are changing (e.g. skill sets of the steady rise in the time-to-fill met- The length of time it may take to fill
IT candidates) making it either easier ric since late 2010 – with a dramatic a job assignment with an interim IT
or more difficult to recruit the right rise in the latest period – is due to contractor has been fairly steady from
individual. But when viewed in con- Agile’s clients requiring IT profession- at least early 2010 and is averaging
junction with the actual requirements als with advanced skills and/or unique about one month.
Third quarter survey results from Atlanta IT executives
show mixed trends
It was a busy year for Metro Atlanta As for 2012, the IT executives from For 2012, IT leaders are feeling pres-
IT organizations. A survey given a broad range of Atlanta’s leading sure on many fronts. When asked
by Agile in October reveals that employers are not as optimistic with to identify the biggest obstacle they
more than two-thirds of local IT half expecting their activity and proj- expect to confront next year, slightly
executives who responded report ect level in 2012 to be about the same more than 40 percent of respondents
that there were more activities and as in 2011. However, almost 45 per- said that “growing my IT organization”
projects in 2011 than in 2010. In cent still expect 2012 to be busier with was at the top their list. Other chal-
addition, more than half of those only about five percent believing that lenges include: securing adequate
surveyed responded that the 2012 will be down from 2011. funding, recruiting enough qualified IT
increase was in the 10 to 24 per- staff, and being able to maintain their
cent range. A quarter of the survey The major challenges local IT execu- current level of IT activity.
respondents said activity level was tives faced in 2011 were locating
the same in 2011, and less than 10 enough qualified IT professionals fol- Their concern about fiscal matters is
percent said it was less. lowed by feeling pressure to meet busi- also evident when asked about the
ness needs and objectives, and more current state of the economy. Close
demand for internal IT resources. to two-thirds of the IT executives
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4. Challenges Faced in 2011
What Needs to Be Done to Generate Job Growth?
surveyed either slightly or strongly believe a strategy of cutting or reduc- new jobs. Other ideas about creating
agreed with the statement that “I ing government programs and less- new jobs such as controlling immigra-
believe the country is now in a reces- ening the tax burden on business is tion and other tax initiatives received
sion” and more than 40 percent necessary. Half of the respondents little support.
believe the country is headed for one. think the government should reduce
or stop creating regulations, and
When asked what is required to gen- almost a third feel that efforts should Watch for the Q4 Market
erate job growth, more than two-thirds increase to train the unemployed for Pulse in January 2012.
If there is something you’d like us
to include in the next issue, please
Sources: Data analysis provided by Bruce Steinberg, employment and economic expert (www.
brucesteinberg.net). Atlanta IT and overall employment data were developed exclusively for Agile by
email news@gotoagile.com
Mr. Steinberg and based upon U.S. Department of Labor/Bureau of Labor Statistics published and
unpublished data.
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