One-fourth of the labor market is actively considering a job shift, according to a recent study from CompTIA, the nonprofit association representing the technology workforce and industry, showing that the U.S. labor force is still on the move.
Despite the economy’s increasing unpredictability, businesses and job seekers continue to search for opportunities. In the second quarter, American businesses posted more than 15 million jobs, 1.5 million of which were for IT roles. A net 41 percent of job seekers view the current employment market to be good or very strong, according to data from CompTIA’s “Job Seeker Trends” study, while a net 27 percent see it as about average.
- Sales, Marketing, Retail, Real Estate, or Related
- Hospitality, Food, Travel, and Tourism
- Healthcare or Medical
- Business, Financial, Accounting, Analyst, or Operations
- Information Technology (IT), Data, Software, or Cybersecurity
- Manufacturing or Production
- Education, Teaching, or Instruction
- Personal and Professional Care, Service, or Child Care
- Transportation, Drivers, or Material Moving
- Construction, Skilled Trades, Operators, or Architects
Even though the majority of job seekers anticipate needing extra training when transitioning to a new area, shockingly few of them reported taking a training class or obtaining other instruction (15 percent ). In order to assess their degree of job readiness, one in five persons said they used career planning tools, skills tests, and related resources.
A net 55 percent of those who are now looking for work said that the confidence gap has an impact on their plans for their careers in the field of technology employment and may discourage them from looking into options there. These concerns are particularly prevalent among those between the ages of 18 and 34 and 35 and 44, and interestingly, individuals with advanced degrees are slightly more likely to have them than those without a four-year degree.
Gen Z workers are more fearful of failure in their pursuit of a tech job and unfavorable perceptions of the “tech work culture” than Gen X workers are (37 percent vs. 27 percent). Gen X workers are more confident than Gen Z workers in their ability to pursue a career in technology without a four-year degree (31 percent vs. 22 percent), which is probably a consequence of younger generations’ altering practical and philosophical attitudes on four-year degrees.
The confidence gap is a significant barrier at a time when businesses of all sizes and in all industries are attempting to recruit technology specialists. CompTIA reports that enterprises throughout the economy added 160,000 core technology professionals in June, maintaining a 19-month hiring record by American IT companies.
