Tech Unemployment Remains Low

The unemployment rate for tech professionals stood at 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, while the rate for the overall economy fell to 7.8 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Technology consulting jobs were the biggest area of growth for the year, with 80,500 positions added in 2012, while manufacturing of computer and electronic products shed 10,100 jobs during the year, and data processing and hosting cut 1,600, according to Dice’s Q4 Tech Trends Report.

It found more tech jobs have been created in the past 3½ years than during similar periods after the economic downturns of 1991 and 2001.

The BLS also broke out unemployment in these categories:

• Computer support specialists – 4.9 percent
• Programmers – 4.6 percent
• Computer and information systems managers – 4.3 percent
• Network and system administrators – 4.3 percent
• Web developers – 3.5 percent
• Computer systems analysts – 3.3 percent
• Software developers — 2.9 percent
• Network architects – 1.9 percent
• Database administrators – 1.5 percent

Despite strong growth in tech jobs, though, IT pros remain largely unwilling to leave their current positions, BLS data show.