RALEIGH – Employers across North Carolina are looking to fill nearly 18,000 jobs across a variety of skills throughout North Carolina, according to new data from the North Carolina Technology Association.

NC TECH tracks IT job openings over last year

Leading the way is demand for software developers with the number of openings climbing nearly 5 percent to more than 3,000. (Here’s a look at the 10 most in-demand occupations and specific skill sets.)

Nationally, the demand for IT workers also is down year-over-year by nearly 5 percent to more than 635,000.

However, the US Labor Department reported on Monday that more than 6 million jobs are available across the US.

While the number of available jobs in February was down slightly from January,s total of 18,240, the report shows that a wide variety of firms – not just technology focused – need skilled information technology talent.

The top 10 hiring companies were:

  1. Oracle
  2. IBM
  3. Bank of America
  4. ACCENTURE
  5. Wells Fargo
  6. Deloitte
  7. Spectrum
  8. Computer Consultants International, Inc.
  9. General Dynamics
  10. Cisco

And hiring needs are clearly available outside of the Triangle and Charlotte metros. Here are the open jobs listed last month and how the numbers compare year-over-year. While down 5 percent overall and more than 10 percent in several metros such as Raleigh, hiring is up in ithers:

  1. Charlotte/Concord/Gastonia: 6,309 ,+8.9%
  2. Raleigh: 5,747, -12.6%
  3. Durham/Chapel Hill: 2,162, +12.5%
  4. Fayetteville: 700, -40.0%
  5. Greensboro/High Point: 630, -12.0%
  6. Winston-Salem: 379, -26.9%
  7. Henderson: 193,  +12.5%
  8. Asheville: 173, 0.0%
  9. Wilmington: 171, -25.9%
  10. Burlington: 169,  +3.6%

“February shows a slight decrease in job openings from January, and a similar decrease from the same period in the previous year,” according to Brooks Raiford, CEO of NC TECH.  “Despite the small dip, demand remains strong.”