IT Job Openings Decline In 3Q But Market Remains ResilientIT Job Openings Decline In 3Q But Market Remains Resilient

IT job openings have declined in Manhattan and neighboring Westchester County, according to a recent report.

In fact, Westchester saw its steepest quarterly slide in the IT job market since the Pace/SkillProof IT Job Index Report began in 2005. The PSII, a composite index showing IT openings at major firms, fell more than 100 points in the third quarter after posting a 40-point gain in the second quarter.

Westchester IT openings declined in most categories of IT jobs, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only network Systems and data communications analysts showed growth, with a slight increase at the end of the quarter, according to the report.

The index showed a 30-point quarterly loss for Manhattan. Technology job openings in Manhattan showed declines in eight of 11 standard IT job categories during the third quarter. Jobs increased for computer scientists and research, while jobs in networking and computer systems administration remained flat in the city. All other categories fell.

Nevertheless, the report predicted "resiliency" for New York City's IT job market for the next two or three quarters.

Constance A. Knapp, interim dean of the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace University, said the report tried to get ahead of a "wait-and-see" attitude to provide a long view of the IT job market. She said the school is uniquely positioned to meet demands of IT professionals who may take stock of their careers and decide to sharpen their skills.

Economics and public administration professor Farrokh Hormozi, Ph.D., developed the index at Pace University's Dyson College of Arts and Sciences.

It's based on labor market data from listed openings, as reported by Henning Seip, of SkillProof. It is released by Pace University's Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, which offers graduate programs.