The growth of cloud computing and the unrelenting need of cybersecurity skills has made cloud security the most difficult IT skill for employers to find on the job market, according to a survey by analytics firm Burning Glass Technologies.

The U.S. Department of Labor, meanwhile, has projected that employment of computer and IT occupations will grow 12 percent from 2014 to 2024, faster than the average for all occupations.

“These occupations are expected to add about 488,500 new jobs, from about 3.9 million to about 4.4 million from 2014 to 2024, thanks in part to a greater emphasis on cloud computing, the collection and storage of big data, more everyday items becoming connected to the Internet in what is commonly referred to as the Internet of things, and the continued demand for mobile computing,” the Labor Department said.

Employers on average take more than three months (96 days) to fill a job that requires cloud security skills, Burning Glass found. That’s 19 days longer than the second hardest-to-find skill, Jboss Application Server, and more than twice as long as the IT industry average of 45 days.

“In the technology world, cloud computing and cybersecurity are both hot topics — so it’s no surprise that Cloud Security is the most difficult information technology skill for employers to find in the labor market,” the survey said.

Other difficult-to-fill skills: metadata design, integration architecture, distributed computing, information architecture, Apache Kafka all in the range span 68-73 days.

Looking at all technology jobs rather than skills, management talent is the most sought after. Technical Manager/Director openings take the longest to fill, at 107 days. The next three positions in time to fill: SAP manager, systems analyst days, and Java architect, all of which take about 63 days.

The analysis is based on Burning Glass’ real-time database of job postings drawn from more than 40,000 online sources. 

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