Texas is the Place to Be For IT Jobs in 2015

By Chelsea Babin

            If your business is in Texas, you’re in the right place as the state was responsible for generating around 1/3 of the nation’s 2014 job growth, according to the Texas Workforce commission. A combination of business friendly policies and an influx of talent have helped the state see a 3.7% nonfarm employment gain in the last year.

The news is especially fruitful for those of us in North Texas (Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington), which, as of the beginning of 2015, has an unemployment rate of 4.6%. Compared to the state’s 5.5% unemployment rate and the nation’s 5.8% unemployment rate, 2015 is a great time to have a business in North Texas.

The Information Technology industry across the nation has been booming for several years now but 2015 promises further growth as well. But that growth is not without its hiccups. An abundance of IT opportunities has attracted talented developers to North Texas but employers are still struggling to fill open positions. Part of this struggle is the Texas IT Industry’s focus on the future. Many opportunities being added in the IT industry locally focus on mobile, Big Data and software development and are spread across the state with larger pockets in major metropolitan areas such as Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and Houston.

Finding the right technical talent in the right location is becoming increasingly difficult in 2015 because there are so many opportunities for candidates to choose from. As competition for top talent heightens, many employers are resorting to offering new benefits, higher salaries, or even relocation reimbursement so they can acquire the talent they need. As the year progresses, employers should keep in mind that hiring a candidate with the perfect combination of technical skills, experience, and cultural fit will become less difficult if they focus on potential rather than employing the full package. On the job training or education reimbursements are great ways to find the technical talent you’re looking for and develop them into the experts you need on your team.