While Information Technology remained strong at the beginning of 2008, it appears as though the bubble may have burst once again for the technology sector. The IT industry dropped to the #4 position after experiencing the largest percentage decrease in jobs over the previous quarter (-3.5 percent) and over the past year (-4.7 percent). As the year progressed and the economy weakened, IT spending and development slowed along with the funding of new technology companies, affecting the demand for IT jobs.
With more than half of the reported industries experiencing a decline in Q4 2008, one industry that proved to be resilient in times of economic uncertainty was Sales & Sales Management. The sales industry experienced a 1.7 percent increase in jobs in Q4 2008, achieving the #2 position for online job postings with 13.4 percent of all jobs posted to the Beyond.com Network. With more than 18,000 jobs posted by employers on SalesJobs.net, one of Beyond.com’s leading career communities, this indicates that qualified sales professionals are likely to find a job, even in the down economy.
"When employers believe the economy is close to or has hit rock bottom, their first reaction is to kick revenue generation into high gear to position the company for future growth," says Jim John, COO of Beyond.com, Inc. "With a tremendous amount of qualified talent currently looking for work, it appears that employers are taking advantage of the opportunity to acquire key sales professionals that have the ability to make a strong, positive impact on the business and offer low risk, high reward to the company."
