Cloud computing is not only revolutionizing the IT industry, it is reinvigorating job growth in the United States. More than 5,000 cloud computing job ads were posted online in the U.S. last month, according to the latest figures from Wanted Analytics.
Hiring demand for cloud skills has grown significantly, up 92 percent versus February 2011 and 400 percent compared to the same time in 2010, the researcher said.
“With the demand for cloud skills growing so quickly, the gap between hiring demand and talent supply across the United States is getting larger and causing more difficulties in sourcing candidates,” Wanted Analytics said in a company statement.
Software Engineers, Systems Engineers, and Network Administrators are the technology occupations are in the greatest demand for cloud-computing skills.
Of the 5,000 cloud-related jobs posted in the U.S. in February, more than 3,400 of the ads were for tech talent, growing 99 percent year-over-year, Wanted Analytics said.
The largest concentration of companies with cloud requirements are located in the metro areas of Seattle, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York. During February, more than 900 job ads in San Jose included requirements for cloud computing, growing 144 percent over the past year. While employers in San Jose placed the highest number of job ads for this talent pool, the highest year-over-year growth was seen nearby in San Francisco at more than 150 percent.
Currently, there are over 8,200 cloud-related jobs posted on job search engine Indeed. Of those job listings, 987 pay $130,000 or more per year.
Although “cloud knowledge” is most commonly required of Computer Specialists, technology jobs only account for two-thirds of cloud computing hiring demand during February. Other fields that increasingly require this experience include Marketing Managers, Sales Managers, Management Analysts and Financial Analysts.
Spending on public and private IT cloud services will generate nearly 14 million jobs worldwide from 2011 to 2015, according to research commissioned by Microsoft, which was conducted by analyst firm IDC (News - Alert), TMCnet reported.
“The cloud is going to have a huge impact on job creation,” said Susan Hauser, Microsoft corporate vice president of the Worldwide Enterprise and Partner Group. “It’s a transformative technology that will drive down costs, spur innovation, and open up new jobs and skillsets across the globe.”
More than one-third of cloud-enabled jobs will be created in the communications and media, banking and manufacturing industries, according to IDC. The research also found that IT innovation created by cloud computing could produce $1.1 trillion a year in new business revenues.