DICE says IT Unemployment is below 4%

As the DOW slips again below 12,000 two articles about labor and unemployment came across my laptop today.
 
According to an article on TechFlash.com, “Tech unemployment below 4 percent, jobs stay open for months”, See http://tinyurl.com/43fg3ps.

Yet according to CNNMoney, “Unemployment claims stuck above 400,000”, See http://tinyurl.com/3zx9blw.

Can unemployment be 9.1% with over 400,000 claims and IT unemployment be below 4%? The answer is yes, but I don’t think so. So who is right?

I talked to a manager from a large national staffing firm that told me IT unemployment is below 5%. He is a smart guy and his company is having trouble finding good qualified candidates to fill his contract jobs. However it is in his best interest to say that IT unemployment is below 5% because he can then raise his rates to his clients and he can lobby congress for increasing the number visa workers into the United States. More visa workers and less expensive workers, makes his job easier and his profits higher.

The same goes for DICE. If DICE can convince companies that IT unemployment is low and that DICE alone has all the available candidates then that means more business for DICE. Also, DICE can justify raising their rates.

What is really happening is that employers, hiring managers and companies, for IT jobs, are taking more time than ever on selecting candidates to interview and hire. This leaves job posting open longer and sitting on websites longer than usual. This creates the perception that unemployment is low. After all if the hiring manager cannot find the perfect candidate then there must be a shortage of candidates and unemployment is low. Right? Wrong!

There are plenty of available, talented IT workers out there with good skills. They might not be perfect. For example they may be skilled in .Net 2.0 rather than .Net 3.5 or .Net 4.0. However hiring managers are passing on these candidates looking for the perfect candidate. That is their right but that does not mean IT unemployment is below 4 percent!

I agree with the numbers that DICE is reporting in their survey, however I don’t agree with their conclusion.