5 tech jobs that keep going unfilled, and why they might be vacant

It’s a job seekers market out there, and developers aren’t the only ones in high demand: Management positions and networking professionals are proving hard to find as well.

A July report on job trends indicates five key positions in the tech industry are going unfilled, likely due to low unemployment numbers and the knowledge among skilled professionals that they have their pick of positions.

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According to career solutions and talent development company LHH, software developer/engineer, product manager, program manager, network engineer/architect and computer systems engineer/architect jobs have, in descending order, been the hardest to fill in the past 90 days.

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The jobs going unfilled don’t necessarily match up with the most frequently posted job titles, though. The top five tech jobs by number of postings are project manager, senior software engineer, software engineer, Java developer and systems administrator. The titles may not be the same, but it’s easy to see the overlap: The tech industry is desperately seeking engineers, developers and managers.

This trend isn’t surprising when LHH’s numbers are compared to other jobs reports from earlier in 2021. A June survey of professionals found that nearly a third were considering leaving for other jobs that paid better, had formal flexible work policies in place or were more mindful of employee well-being.

“It’s a very hot job market. Unemployment within the tech sector is low, and organizations are seeking highly specialized experts in cutting-edge areas. Hiring managers are competing for top talent, and tech candidates have the advantage here with a high demand for their skills,” said LHH President John Morgan.

This plays right into another employment statistic cited by LHH: H-1B visas for tech jobs are increasingly going to non-traditional tech hubs, indicating that smaller cities are starting to threaten Silicon Valley’s dominance. New York City, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago and Atlanta are cited as the top five cities by H-1B filings, and Morgan said it’s not only foreign workers who are trending toward new and growing tech hubs.

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“We’re seeing tech talent leaving tech hubs to seek out cities with a lower cost of living, which has benefited a lot of smaller U.S. cities. With companies having proven they can make remote working successful, many companies are more flexible with employees pursuing new locations, Morgan said.

In the post-pandemic world flexible and remote work are essentials; businesses who are seeing essential tech jobs go unfilled should be sure they’re using the best possible strategies to attract top talent.