Janco: IT managers earn more than other top execs

IT executives and managers are among the most highly paid workers in US corporations, according to a new report based on the latest data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The BLS this week updated its Occupational Employment and Wages Summary for 2022; it showed computer and information research scientists earn on average about $155,880 a year. Database architects are the second-highest earners with just over $136,540 in annual compensation. Software developers followed at $132,000 a year.

Putting upward pressure on wages has been a combination of scarce tech talent and low unemployement rates.

According to figures from business consultancy Janco Associates, there are 145,000 unfilled jobs for IT professionals in the US, mainly due to a lack of qualified candidates. Another IT industry group, CompTIA, has placed the number of unfilled IT job openings even higher — at 316,000. In March, the tech unemployment rate remained unchanged from February at 2.2%.

Based on the new BLS data — the agency explained how it arrived at its figures in this technical note — Janco released its own report this week that compared its IT salary data with that of the bureau. “If anything, Janco’s results are more conservative as its data is more granular,” the consultancy said in its report.

Janco Associates

“Computer user support specialists were the only computer occupation that did not have an above-average wage,” Janco said. “Interestingly, many companies have chosen to offshore these functions, which had reduced costs in a minor way while adversely impacting the service levels they provide their internal staff and customers.”

According to Janco, computer and IT managers are among the most highly paid positions in the US, earning an average $173,670 across all industries and occupations; that’s even more than the top executives in all industries and occupations ($129,050).

While among the most highly sought-after jobs, computer user support specialists (help desks and customer service representatives) were also the lowest-paying computer occupations at just $61,580, along with and computer network support specialists, who earn on average $76,060.

In terms of employment in the tech industry, software developers held just over 1.5 million positions in the US, more than double the 700,000 positions held by computer user support specialists. Computer systems analysts, with 500,000 jobs, were in third place.

BLS

Not surprisingly, the largest employers for computer and mathematical occupations in the US were computer systems design and related services companies (1.31 million jobs), according to the BLS data. Management companies and enterprises were the second largest employers of IT workers (331,220 jobs). They were followed by software publishers (with 286,760 jobs) and employment services (190,030 jobs), which includes temporary help services.

Overall more than 4.18 million people now work as IT professionals in the US, according Janco said, noting that past efforts to outsource tech jobs have done little to cut costs.

“Moves to outsource these skills have resulted in higher costs over longer lead times to complete tasks,” Janco said. “Again, this is adversely impacting the service levels provided by the IT function.”

The highest-paying states for computer occupations were California, where annual salaries on average were $143,670, and Washington, where average salaries were $129,870 a year. The lowest-paying states for this group included Mississippi, at $75,840 a year, and North Dakota, at $76,900 a year.

The cost of living, especially over the past year as inflation has bedeviled the economy, has been a key driver in compensation levels as many IT pros look to maximize their net compensation.

Earlier this week, job search website Lensa published a research study showing “computer occupations” are among the most in-demand jobs in the US, second only to “health diagnostic and treatment practitioners.” More than 3.1 million potential applicants clicked on open job positions in the IT arena, according to Lensa.

Janco Associates

US IT job market growth screeched to a halt at the beginning of the year, with a decline of 2,600 jobs in January and 11,600 jobs in February. In March, the market rebounded slightly with 500 jobs added, according to BLS data.

In January, Janco had predicted that salaries for IT pros would grow by up to 8% for some tech workers this year. But citing recent economy uncertainty and widespread layoffs, Janco retooled its prediction and now belives the median salary for IT pros in 2023 will be 3% to 4% above 2022 levels.

Layoffs by tech giants including Accenture, Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet led to about 170,000 workers losing their jobs in the first quarter, according IT industry jobs tracker Layoffs.fyi.

IT job growth, while slower than last year, is still expected to be a net positive this year.

“We continue to forecast there will be 60,000 to 70,000 new IT jobs created in the current calendar year,” Janco said. “That will be slower than the prior two years, but will still be positive.”