Congress last year allowed more visa holders into the country for the next three years, a decision that proved controversial with some U.S. technology groups. That includes 10 workers in Virginia, such as a Herndon programmer with six years of experience and a mastery of popular skills such as the Java and XML programming languages used in building Web sites. Harris Miller, president of the Arlington-based Information Technology Association of America, a public policy group with more than 26,000 business members, which is releasing the assessment of the tech job market, said even though the pace of demand is slowing, there remain thousands of jobs that go unfilled because employers cannot find workers with the necessary advanced technical skills. The study pegs that number at 425,000, down from 850,000 open positions last year. Prospective employees say they may have little choice.
Companies are just afraid to commit to resources right now.
They want to make sure their investors are happy. The ITAA report was based on random telephone interviews with hiring managers at 685 companies that each employ more than 50 workers. Results were accurate to within 3 percentage points, researchers said.