Tracy Phillips

Tracy Phillips

CodeSubmit Team

Is There a Shortage of Developers? Developer Shortage Statistics in 2022

Industry Research

Is there a shortage of developers?

We’ve put together all the tech talent shortage statistics you need. Today, you’ll learn exactly what the developer shortage looks like right now and trends for the future.

Want to learn more? Read on!

Overview of the top tech talent shortage statistics

What does the shortage of developers look like? Here are the most interesting statistics right now to highlight just how dire the shortage of talent is:

  • Around 40 million technical jobs go unfulfilled due to a lack of skilled talent.
  • The US Labor Department estimates that the global shortage of software engineers may reach 85.2 million by 2030.
  • By 2026, it’s estimated that there will be 1.2 million engineering job openings.
  • Job openings for software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers are projected to grow by 22% year over year between 2020 to 2030.
  • Globally, companies risk losing $8.5 trillion in revenue because of the lack of skilled talent.

Now, let’s find out what the tech talent shortage looks like today.

Is there still a shortage of software developers?

Yes, there’s still a developer shortage. First, let’s take a look at tech talent employment numbers and then, what the developer shortage looks like in concrete numbers.

There are 1.8 million software developer jobs in the US

The US Labor Department reports that there are 1.8 million software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers in the US.

The median pay for software developers is $110,140 per year

Software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers are paid $110,140 on average per year or $52.95 per hour. Our own research shows how these salaries have developed over 20 years.

Developer recruitment costs can amount to $28,548-$35,685

According to our own research, it costs employers anywhere from $28,548 to $35,685 to hire a full-time developer. However, this sum doesn’t take into account indirect costs (such as productivity losses), which can potentially raise the sum to $41,049. Without external recruiters, the cost of hiring developers is around $13,500.

85.2 million jobs will go unfulfilled by 2030

Around 40 million technical jobs go unfulfilled due to a lack of skilled talent. This number is expected to rise to 85.2 million by 2030.

58% are increasing emerging technology investments

The demand for tech talent is increasing rapidly. 58% of IT executives say that they already have increased or are planning on increasing emerging technology investments. Unfortunately, the market probably can’t respond to this increase in demand.

35% want to hire 50+ developers in a year, and 15% want to hire 200+ developers a year

Hiring managers have plenty of open positions. 35% of employers want to hire more than 50 developers this year, and 15% want to hire more than 200 developers. However, the talent shortage will make these hiring processes difficult.

What implications does the tech talent shortage have?

Why is a shortage of developers so bad?

The lack of tech talent comes with a number of hurdles for employers; for instance, difficulty competing and innovating, higher costs, and lost revenue. Here are the most important reasons why this is a top issue for employers:

Worldwide, companies could miss out on $8.5 trillion in revenues due to the talent shortage

If more high-tech workers aren’t added to the workforce by 2030, the US could miss out on over $160 billion of annual revenues. Worldwide, that figure is $8.5 trillion.

The talent shortage is one of the top five risks for companies

Talent shortages can be a major issue for organizations. Gartner lists talent shortage as one of the top five emerging risks for companies. 63% of survey respondents said that a lack of talent is a key concern for them.

50% say that the lack of skilled IT labor makes it difficult to grow and compete

At the same time, the technical talent shortage has even bigger implications. CIO reports that 50% of Chief Information Officers say that due to the lack of skilled IT labor, it is difficult to grow and compete.

Almost 50% of recruiters say that the #1 challenge they face is finding technical talent

Tech talent shortages are making it increasingly difficult to recruit the right employees. Nearly half of recruiters say their number one challenge is finding qualified technical candidates.

Tech talent shortages are a bigger concern than supply chain issues and cybersecurity

57% of tech executives say that finding qualified employees is their biggest concern. 26% say the same of supply chains and 20% name cybersecurity. In other words, tech talent shortages outrank both of these concerns.

77% of jobs will require technical skills in the next decade

At the same time, a growing number of jobs rely on technical skills. 77% of jobs will require tech skills in the next decade, according to estimates.

64% of IT executives say that tech talent shortages hinder the adoption of emerging technology

64% of IT executives say that the shortage of tech talent is a major barrier to the adoption of emerging technology. The most affected areas are network, security, digital workplace, IT automation, computer infrastructure and platform services, and storage and database systems.

Tech talent shortages are a major issue for the adoption of IT automation and digital workplace technologies

75% of IT executives report that talent shortage is the main adoption risk factor for the majority of IT automation technologies, and 41% say the same of digital workplace technologies.

Why is there a shortage of programmers?

What underlying reasons are there for the shortage of developers? While the reasons are complex (and the industry is moving so fast that upskilling or reskilling efforts can’t keep up), these are a few reasons to consider:

The time to hire technical talent is 50% longer

It takes 50% longer to hire technical talent compared to other positions. It takes, on average, 66 days to find the right software developer for an open position. These open vacancies cost companies about $680 in lost revenue per day per vacancy.

72% of US IT workers are thinking of quitting their jobs in the next year

72% of US IT workers say they might quit their jobs in the next 12 months. The reasons are:

  • Their job has limited career progression (41%)
  • There is a lack of flexibility in working hours (40%)
  • The work environment is toxic (39%)

42% of women and 35% of men are burnt out

Another factor to take into consideration is employee wellbeing. 42% of US women and 35% of men say they feel burned out often or almost always, according to McKinsey.

Which country has a shortage of software developers?

Is there a shortage of software developers in the USA? And what about other countries? Here are the numbers on what tech talent shortages look like in different countries, including the US, Sweden, Israel, and Germany.

1 million IT jobs go unfulfilled in the US

In 2019, US companies had around 1 million unfilled IT job vacancies. These companies couldn’t find people with the right skill set for those positions. Similarly, job postings rose 34% in the first half of 2019.

Demand for software developers is expected to grow 22% year-over-year in the US

Job openings for software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers are projected to grow 22% from 2020 to 2030, according to the US Labor Department.

There will be 1.2 million engineering job openings by 2026 in the US

By 2026, there could be 1.2 million open engineering jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Sweden lacks 70,000 developers

According to Cedefop (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training), Swedish IT & telecom industries lack 70,000 skilled workers.

60% of Israeli companies report a lack of high-tech talent

60% of Israeli companies, especially internet and software companies, can’t find talent for R&D positions.

Germany’s tech talent shortage is growing 12% year over year

In Germany, the number of unfilled IT vacancies was 96,000 in 2021. This number grew by 12% from the previous year when 86,000 positions remained unfilled.

How can we fix the developer shortage?

Are there any solutions to this developer shortage? Yes, there are! What they comes down to are flexibility and creativity. Let’s take a look:

80% hire graduates from coding boot camps

80% of US tech managers have hired graduates from coding boot camps. 99.8% say they would hire such candidates again. What’s more, 72% of those managers think that coding boot camp graduates are just as prepared and just as likely to perform at a high level as computer science grads. 12% think they are likely to do even better.

57% of HR professionals support the elimination of the four-year degree requirement

At the same time, 57% of senior HR professionals support the elimination of the four-year degree requirement that companies often set as a qualification. The way we learn new skills is changing, and companies must change, too, if they want to attract talent.

70% of developers want to work remotely

Another solution is to offer remote work. After all, 70% of developers want to work remotely. 33% of them want to work remotely full-time and 37% want to opt for hybrid work, splitting their time between the office and home.

However, only one-in-three employers offer fully remote roles, and 29% offer hybrid options. To stand out, employers need to listen to their candidates and move their companies towards remote work.

42% of companies say they want to upskill or reskill employees

42% of employers are planning to launch upskilling or reskilling initiatives among their current employees. For instance, Amazon wants to upskill 100,000 US employees by 2025 with a focus on software engineering, machine learning, IT workers, and cloud development.

What does the demand for software developers look like in 2022?

What type of tech talent is most sought-after this year? Here are the statistics on the most popular technical skills and programming languages.

Web development, DevOps, and AI/Machine Learning are the most sought after technical skills

Web development, DevOps, and AI/Machine Learning are the technical skills most sought after by hiring managers.

The most popular programming languages are JavaScript, Java, and Python.

Over to you!

There you have it! There is a shortage of developers and this lack of talent will only grow unless decisive action is taken to train more developers and improve hiring processes.

At the same time, you can start improving your hiring processes already today.

At CodeSubmit, we offer an industry-leading skill assessment platform that makes it easier and faster to hire software developers.

Start your free trial today (no credit card required).