As the economy continues to languish, IT salary trends offer little hope to both working and unemployed IT professional, as companies cut wages and fewer high-tech positions become available due to attrition.
Janco Associates today released data from its 2009 Mid Year IT Salary Survey that proves compensation for American high-tech workers isn’t improving, but declining slightly as more companies prepare themselves for a long economic recovery.
“The current economic climate with its cost-cutting mindsets, business closures and extensive outsourcing has put such a great pressure on the IT job market that overall pay has been impacted,” said Victor Janulaitis, CEO of Janco, in a statement. “Added to that, many baby-boomers who had planned on retiring in the next few years are not leaving the job market and you have more potential employees than positions available.”
According to the survey of 215 large companies and 526 mid-size organizations, IT salaries fell an average of .19 per cent overall, with midsize enterprise IT executives seeing a nearly two per cent decline in total compensation between January 2008 and June 2009. Middle managers at large organizations saw total pay decline by close to .5 per cent as well. The mean compensation, including bonuses, for all IT executive positions surveyed was US$142,753 in large enterprises and US$123,728 in midsize enterprise companies. Both figures represent a decrease in total compensation on average across some 73 positions surveyed.
“Since the fall of 2008, it has been a very ‘poor’ period for IT professionals’ compensation. Not only has mean compensation decreased due to the lack of bonuses but the supply of IT professionals has exceeded the demand,” Janco’s report reads.
Not only are companies cutting pay or conducting layoffs, they are also reducing benefits, Janco reports, such as personal and company bonuses.