The national jobless rate grew from 7.6 percent in January to 8.1 percent in February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s up 3.3 percent from the year before and the highest rate in 26 years. Many observers expect the rate to reach double digits this year.

With numbers like that, it’s hard to be optimistic. It’s a bit easier if you’re in IT, where demand for jobs remains stronger than in fields like construction and hospitality. Unemployment in the tech sector was a comparatively low 5.4 percent in February.

Compared to their peers in other sectors, more IT employers expect to add new jobs this year. According to the annual hiring forecast produced by jobs site CareerBuilder.com, 28 percent of IT employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees in 2009. The numbers are lower for professional and business services (23 percent), transportation and utilities (20 percent), sales (16 percent), health care (14 percent), financial services (13 percent), retail (7 percent) and hospitality (5 percent). Across all sectors, 14 percent of employers intend to increase headcount, down from 32 percent last year.

“IT is one of the biggest industries still posting and hiring,” says Michael Erwin, senior career adviser for CareerBuilder.com. “If you’re looking for an IT job, it’s going to take you longer than it would have a year ago, but jobs are still out there if you’re committed to the search.”

“It’s not all gloom and doom,” agrees Tom Silver, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer of Dice.com, an online jobs site serving the tech industry.

While the number of jobs listed on Dice.com is off about 40 percent from last year, Silver says the rate of decline appears to be leveling off after a steep drop in 2008’s fourth quarter, when listings shrank from 86,000 to 55,000. “The market can’t turn up until it flattens out,” he says.

Demand for some IT jobs is holding firm, or even growing, says Silver. Due to the difficulty in obtaining government security clearances, demand for candidates with them is strong. There are 4,000 such jobs posted on Dice.com, double last year’s number.

Demand for business analysts has remained essentially flat for the past year, a testimony to their ability to make IT relevant to the broader business, says Silver. Also faring well are positions that can help companies cut costs and increase efficiencies. For instance, listings seeking candidates with VMware skills are down just 11 percent since last year.

“If you understand about virtualization and how to make infrastructure more efficient, you offer a lot of value to a company. With virtualization, it’s important to not only understand programming, but how the capability can fit into a company’s more strategic goals,” says Silver.

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