Software Development, C# Among Top IT Skills in Demand, Dice Says

Software development skills in general and C# development skills in particular saw more demand from employers in the most recent month, according to the July 2010 Dice Report from the online technology employment service and marketplace. Also in demand are those who have active government security clearance.

“Virtualization and project manager fell off the list” of top 10 skills in demand, Tom Silver, senior vice president of North America for Dice, told Channel Insider. However, he cautioned that it’s not so significant that they fell off the list. “They are still difficult positions to fill,” and employers are still demanding those skills.

Overall, open positions were higher on July 1 this year than they were last year, but still lower than in 2008. Dice reported 66,672 total positions open as of July 1, 2010, compared with 48,993 on July 1, 2009, and 86,988 on July 1, 2008.

As for full-time positions, Dice reported 39,389 open as of July 1, 2010, compared with 28,713 a year ago and 61,550 two years ago.  

Contract employment demand remained steadier, with 31,393 open positions on July 1, 2010, compared with 22,986 open positions a year ago and 34,743 open positions two years ago.

Dice provided the following list of the 10 most difficult positions to fill:

1. Java/J2EE
2. Security
3. Software Developer
4. SAP
5. Database Administrator
6. NET
7. Oracle
8. Sharepoint
9. C#
10. Active Federal Government Security Clearance

Silver said these positions generally pay about $10,000 more than other average IT salaries.