Tech Positions Replacing Middle Management

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Employment Lawyer

With the end of the year around the corner, employers and employees alike are looking back through 2013 to identify trends that help them to look forward. According to US News and World Report, one of the biggest changes in employment and the job market as of late doesn’t involve the number of jobs available, but the type of positions being offered. “A new study from the job-matching service TheLadders suggests… that once-ubiquitous middle-management jobs—with titles like “manager” and “director”—are being replaced by skill-specific positions in the technology sector,” according to US News and World Report.

This arguably echoes similar sociological debates about the decline of the middle class and available positions that retain a certain degree of responsibility but that aren’t necessarily high-stress. TheLadders study found that between 2008 and 2013, available job titles that contained the word “manager” had a 25 percent less growth rate than the average growth of job titles on average. “The growth rate of titles containing the word “director” is 50 percent lower,” reports US News and World Report. Of the top 10 percent of growing job titles, less than 2 percent were managerial or directorial positions.

So what does this mean for the average American laborer? On one hand, it could mean the decline of jobs that traditionally provide for a solidly middle-class income. Managerial and directorial positions are in some cases being forsaken for contract positions that focus on technological skills and tasks. Technology, that is, is “the new middle management,” according to US News and World Report. Titles included in TheLadders report that didn’t even exist a decade ago include Development Operations Engineer, iOS Developer, and Data Scientist. Most of these positions end up going to younger employees, many of whom are contracted and not salaried.

According to the Department of Labor (DOL), it’s no wonder that tech jobs are replacing middle management. “In five years,” reports the DOL, “almost half of all workers will be employed in industries that produce or are intensive users of information technology.”

If you or someone you know has legal questions regarding the decline of middle management jobs or any other reason, it’s worthwhile to seek the counsel of a qualified employment attorney. Contact The Miller Law Firm P.C. today.