Demand for Technology Resources Remains Strong Despite COVID-19

While first few months of COVID-19 put employers in an environment of uncertainty, June’s rise in job postings for nearly all key tech occupations and hubs suggests that employer confidence is returning.

During the nation’s initial wave of lockdowns, companies had to make rapid decisions about where to focus tech resources. Largely, employers prioritized infrastructure, systems and security over new product development. Now, months later, employers appear to be confident enough to engage in long-term planning and see a need for talented technologists who can help build new products and maintain current tech stacks.

The Dice Q2 2020 Job Report indicates that job postings for Java developers climbed 14% year-over-year, computer programmers notched upward 7% and DevOps engineers rose 3%. Demand for data engineers and Salesforce CRM developers also rose (5% and 10% YoY).

The most significant increases occurred between May and June. job postings for software developers increased by 25%, systems engineers increased 24%, and application developers increased by 31%. Demand for product managers also rose by 28%, indicating employers feel more optimistic to invest in new product development to differentiate and capitalize on the changing landscape.

Strong demand is also reflected in the growth in demand for tech resources in all of the top 25 tech hubs in the U.S.   Arlington VA experienced a 28% increase in demand, driven by Amazon’s “HQ2” headquarters as well as the increase in government IT projects.  Although demand in California declined in comparison to Q2 2019, the 140,000 tech jobs posted in California were still almost double any other state. Job postings also grew 20% between May and June, indicating that increased demand was returning.  Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia, and Baltimore all experienced a greater than 30% increase in demand from May to June.