Survey: IT Salary Growth Stalled in 2020

IT Salaries were flat in 2020, according to a recent report by Janco Associates, an international consulting firm that follows issues of concern CIOs and CFOs. Most salary increases were limited to 1% or less.

Middle managers in IT organizations felt the burden particularly strongly, according to the report.

“The one factor that stood out the most was the reduction or flat-out elimination of discretionary bonuses,” said Janco CEO M. Victor Janulaitis. “That added to the fact that SMBs, where most IT pros have positions, were the most adversely effected by the shutdowns. That drove many companies to manage costs by limiting hiring and salary increases.”

“On the bright side, there has been a pick-up in development activities associated with initiatives which support Work-from-Home telecommuting and related mobile applications,” he continued. “That could be the spark that drives any growth in salaries and hiring in the near term. However, in our opinion, salaries for IT pros will remain flat for at least the first and second quarters of 2021.”

The company also found that hiring of many positions at all levels of IT management were put on hold, with the possible exception of key replacements and employees with selected skills to support C-Level mandated development activities. More than 115,000 IT professionals were laid-off or terminated in April and May due to the Covid-19 shut-downs, which applied additional downward pressure to wage levels. The report says there were approximately 84,000 fewer IT jobs in December than at the start of the year.

Janco interviewed over 100 CIOs in the last several weeks as part of its data-gathering process for the survey.

Channel Impact^®
CIOs tend to be more cautious in managing budgets, salaries, and staffing – at least until the economic picture improves.