Why slower tech hiring does not mean fewer skills gaps

Lower tech hiring can coexist with unmet enterprise skills needs

Technology hiring has declined even as job postings have increased, giving chief information officers (CIOs) two different signals. Recruitment has slowed, but employers still advertise for technology workers. Neither completed hires nor advertised positions establish whether an enterprise has the skills to deploy systems or use the tools it already owns. To assess that problem, technology leaders need to connect staffing needs to the work their teams must perform.

Missing skills carry costs across deployments, tools and AI use

Doing that work becomes harder when missing expertise combines with other deployment barriers. CIOs identify skills shortages, tightening budgets and older technology as obstacles to putting enterprise systems into use. These constraints interact: even a funded project needs people who can implement it within existing systems. Slower hiring leaves those requirements unchanged.

When internal teams lack the expertise, businesses can pay outside consultants to supply it. Those fees put the skills gap into the technology budget even without an internal hire. Unused tools add another cost because technology delivers limited value when employees lack the skills to use it. CIO Dive describes the combined costs of outside consulting fees and unused tools as “hundreds of thousands.”

Unused tools also show why buying technology and gaining value from it are separate steps. Before another purchase can solve the problem, a business needs the expertise to operate what it already owns. Skills therefore affect both the value of existing investments and whether planned deployments can succeed.

Artificial intelligence (AI) adds a related requirement as companies seek to expand adoption. Lagging skills impede safe use, so access to AI tools must come with the ability to deploy and work with them responsibly. The staffing question becomes specific: which missing capabilities are preventing delivery, leaving tools unused or limiting safe AI use?

Employers remain cautious, but demand extends beyond AI specialists

Job postings help show how employers are responding to those needs, though they record recruitment intentions rather than completed hires. Seth Robinson, VP of research at CompTIA, told CIO Dive that stronger growth in technology listings indicates companies are investing in technology and see it as a way to distinguish themselves. CompTIA has an institutional stake in demand for technology skills, so readers should distinguish Robinson’s interpretation from the hiring measures themselves.

Robinson also said employers remain cautious, so interest in investing can coexist with restraint in making commitments. Still, he sees the increase in active listings as a possible sign of greater unmet demand. “The number of active job postings jumping to the level that it did is a signal that the gap between demand and supply is not only still there, but it’s maybe growing a little bit,” he told CIO Dive.

That demand includes established technology occupations. Robinson identified software development, systems administration and tech support as roles employers continue to need, with broadly similar responsibilities despite the influence of AI skills. Teams still need people to develop, administer and support technology while AI changes some of the expertise those jobs require.

CIOs may find otherwise hard-to-win candidates in other industries

Demand for those roles can remain strong while particular candidates become easier to recruit, because availability also depends on a person’s employer and alternatives. Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor, identified that opportunity in comments to CIO Dive. Glassdoor has a commercial stake in employers’ recruiting activity, so his advice comes from a business that benefits from the search for talent. “This can be an environment where it’s beneficial to try to find talent that would be too hard to compete for in a hotter job market,” he said.

To find those candidates, Zhao suggested looking beyond familiar employers. “That might mean looking at other industries or employers that aren’t doing as well to see if there’s talent you can poach there, or if there have been layoffs in other industries that can be a place where you can look for talent.” The possible recruiting pools include other industries, weaker-performing employers and businesses where layoffs have occurred.

An employer’s difficulties may make someone more open to moving, even while other companies seek the same skills. Zhao’s advice concerns access to individual candidates; Robinson’s interpretation concerns the wider gap between demand and supply. Because these are different questions, a selective recruiting opportunity gives a CIO no reason to assume the broader skills shortage has eased.

To turn that opportunity into a useful hire, the candidate’s expertise must match the enterprise’s unmet need, and the budget must support the appointment. A developer, systems administrator or support specialist becomes valuable through the work they enable: completing a deployment, using existing tools or supporting safe AI adoption. The hiring decision depends on that match and the cost the enterprise can carry.

Key takeaways for leaders

Separate hiring signals: Completed hires and job postings measure different parts of the labor market. CIOs need to assess skills availability against the work their enterprise needs to deliver.
Track the cost of missing skills: Consulting fees, unused tools and delayed deployments expose the financial impact of skills gaps. CIOs can prioritize capabilities that unlock existing investments and support safe AI use.
Keep core technology roles in focus: Employers continue to seek software developers, systems administrators and support specialists as AI changes skill requirements. Hiring plans need to reflect both established responsibilities and emerging AI needs.
Broaden the recruiting pool: CIOs may find accessible candidates in other industries, weaker-performing employers and businesses affected by layoffs. Evaluate each candidate against a specific delivery need and the budget available for the hire.