IT, Accounting Jobs Fall Out Of “Most Advertised” List

Online job postings for tech and accounting professionals have cooled significantly since 2013 when so many companies were hiring accountants and software engineers that the jobs were among the most advertised online.

Now, perhaps as another sign Americans are spending more freely, retail and customer facing jobs have replaced them on Wanted Analytics’ list of the Top 25 Most Common Jobs Posted Online.

Where previously jobs for software engineers, java developers, accountants and senior accountants all ranked in the top 25, sales associates (#6), cashiers (#10) and merchandiser (#17) jobs made the list instead. Also making a first appearance are certain jobs in trucking, an occupation where worker shortages have become keen enough to warrant notice by the Federal Reserve.

On the most recent list, companies are more aggressively looking for independent owner operators, rather than “drivers,” which ranked fifth in 2013. They are also becoming more specific, asking for Class A CDL Truck Driver, instead of using a more generic job title.

What hasn’t changed in the two years since Wanted last released its top 25 list is the demand for healthcare workers. Three of the top five most widely advertised jobs are in healthcare, says Wanted, a company that compiles data on jobs posted online. The only difference today is the order. Registered nurses top the current list. Two years ago physical therapists were first.

None of this is to say demand for tech workers and accountants has declined. Already there are more IT jobs than workers to fill them. By 2020 the U.S. Labor Department forecasts a shortage of 1 million tech workers. Unemployment in the field is at 2.3%, the lowest since 2008 and there’s every reason to believe the downward trend will continue. Filling a job in the information field takes an average of nearly 37 working days.
Meanwhile accounting positions have become so difficult to fill that companies are sweetening their benefits and comp packages and still are taking 42 days and more to fill a finance position. The unemployment rate for accountants auditors was a tight 2.9% in the first quarter.

So why have these job titles fallen out of Wanted’s top 25 advertised jobs list?

Most probably because companies aren’t getting the response they want and are turning to other methods., especially to agencies.

In March, Wanted released an analysis of who is placing various help wanted postings. In the hardest to fill categories, including accounting and IT, agency-placed ads were the fastest growing.

The analysis lead Wanted President and CEO Meredith Amdur, to observe, “Staffing firms are being hired to fill excess jobs that HR teams can’t fill internally either due to overall challenging conditions or lack of internal recruiting time and resources especially for these jobs with niche skillsets.”

Wanted’s recommendation: “Employers may be able to reduce the time-to-fill and cost-per-hire by enlisting a third party agency that specializes in these areas and has the industry-specific resources to connect with qualified candidates.”