* Study: "Offshoring of Information Technology Jobs: Myths and Realities"
Fears of IT job losses stemming from offshore outsourcing are overblown, according to a study from distance educator American Sentinel University.
“Offshoring of Information Technology Jobs: Myths and Realities” finds that most of the IT job losses over the past few years were cyclical following the recession. And while low-level jobs are at risk of being sent overseas, demand for more skills IT positions is growing.
“Studies from consulting groups during the stagnant job growth years of 2002 to 2004 stoked very pessimistic views of the future for IT professionals,” says Jeremy Leonard, chief economist at American Sentinel University and author of the report. “Once the current economic expansion took hold, however, we found that the 2000 to 2002 job losses had little, if anything, to do with jobs moving overseas.”
IT jobs at most risk of offshoring are those that are labor-intensive, easy to codify, and don’t require face-to-face contact. Examples include positions such as programmers, coders, support specialists, data entry clerks and database administrators.
However, high-end IT occupations that require advanced degrees in computer science or information systems and knowledge of management and business processes are actually on the rise. “Overall, high-end jobs returned to the double-digit growth common in the 1990s once the current economic expansion took hold, strongly suggesting the 2000 to 2002 job losses had little, if anything, to do with offshoring,” the report notes.
American Sentinel University cites U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for IT employment growth for the period between 2002 and 2004. According to those numbers, demand for network and computer systems administrators increased 13.1%. This role was lumped into the category of low-end IT occupations, which decreased overall 1.5% in that period.
Meanwhile, demand for high-end IT occupations grew by 18.1% in that same timeframe, helped in particular by 32.5% increase in demand for network systems and data communications analysts.
For a copy of the report, click here.
