Uncertain macroeconomic conditions and measures to cut costs across technology companies have resulted in the elimination of open IT roles. Credit: Thinkstock In an unexpected turn, the US IT job market has seen over 100,000 unfilled jobs being eliminated, according to a report from management consulting firm Janco Associates. “In a startling turn of events CIOs and hiring managers of IT professionals have seen the elimination of over 100K jobs from the open requisition for those positions,” Victor Janulaitis, CEO at Janco Associates, said in the report. The elimination of IT jobs is being considered unexpected as the US’ Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showed that the country had added 223,000 jobs in December, including 17,600 positions at technology companies, despite layoffs at high-profile technology companies dominating the month. Initial reading of the data from sources such as BLS showed that most positions eliminated during December were administrative and non-technical in nature, Janulaitis said, adding that a second deep-dive into the data revealed the negative impact on IT roles. “Reviewing the data, we now see that CIOs and hiring managers not only eliminated those non-technical positions but have also started putting the break on IT projects,” Janulaitis said. This has led to cutbacks across production and IT operations, while developers were not as hard hit. Janco’s report also cited IT consulting firms and independent consultants, pointing out that new initiatives across companies have been put on hold and their teams are being asked to justify additional extensions. “In general, this may be an omen that the good times are about to end. The turn from optimism to pessimism has been profound and quick,” the report said, adding that CIOs were pulling back on anything that will increase headcount. CFOs have been under pressure to perform cost correction and are asking all departments to cut any resource that is not “totally necessary,” the report noted. Middle managers at companies have also been asked to justify existing staff, Janulaitis said, adding that human resource teams have been told to hire only key personnel for running operations or businesses. Janco is expected to put out a new report examining the immediate negative impact on IT job market after BLS data is released later this week. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan May 03, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Udacity offers laid-off US workers free access to its courses for 30 days Sign-ups will be available over the next 30 days By Lucas Mearian May 02, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry IT Jobs IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe