There has been “a monumental shift in the IT labor market as AI has taken hold and many legacy positions in the IT function have been automated out of existence,” Janulaitis said.
“For example, try to talk to Microsoft on a technical issue,” he said. “All of their phone numbers have been redirected to websites. This has impacted the US labor market somewhat, but the real unemployment had been in the offshore job markets. Federal IT workers will be in a world of hurt. Many of the systems and support staffs are based on really old legacy technology. Those employees do not have the skills to compete in the AI and LLM job markets.”
Janco Associates
Peter Miscovich, Global Future of Work Leader at JLL Consulting, agreed that the IT workforce in the US is rapidly changing due to advances in AI, policy shifts, and changing industry needs. Workers, he said, face a paradox: some sectors struggle with talent shortages, while others have an oversupply due to recent layoffs and hiring freezes.
