May 8th, 2009
Unemployment abounds, but not for IT and management consultants
It’s the worst of times for employment as the ranks of jobless hit 8.9 percent, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. But it’s the best of times to be an IT or management consultant.
The U.S. economy lost 539,000 jobs in April, a tally that was better than expected. Since the recession began in December 2007 5.7 million jobs have been lost (statement).
However, those job worries need not apply to IT and management consultants. Those jobs aren’t growing but they aren’t disappearing at a rapid clip either. This news isn’t surprising to those following the likes of IBM, Accenture and HP’s EDS unit, but the government data really highlights the job stability for consultants.
Simply put, these are the best of times for consultants relative to others.
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
For daily updates, follow Larry on Twitter.
Subscribe to Between the Lines via Email alerts or RSS.
