Since 2019, certain skills and groups of skills have grown more rapidly in demand. The HWOL dataset, provided by Burning Glass Technologies, identifies individual skills mentioned in online job ads and groups them into skill clusters. These skills and skill clusters are then calculated as a share for select occupations to determine which skills are mentioned more in online job ads relative to others in those same occupations.

In quickly evolving tech occupations, new and emerging skills are very prominent. Online job ads for Computer and Mathematical occupations (excluding Actuaries) defined by the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System were used to isolate tech jobs in the US.

Shown in Chart 1 is the percent change in the share of selected skill cluster mentions in job ads for tech occupations from 2019 to the last 12 months ending in February 2021. Mentions of skills grouped in the IT Automation cluster have grown significantly realtive to others while skills grouped in Mainframe Technologies and Web Content have declined. Cloud and data analysis related skills have grown significantly as well. Shown in Chart 2 is the percent change in the share of selected individual skill mentions in job ads for tech occupations during that same period. Skills including Kubernetes and Ansible, both included in the IT Automation cluster, have grown rapidly.

Chart 1. Emerging skill clusters including Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Solutions have grown rapidly relative to others

Chart 2. Emerging specialized skills have experienced significant growth in demand