The biggest bank in America is continuing on a blockchain rampage by posting more jobs in the industry than any other financial firm. According to results released today by job-hunting site Indeed.com, JPMorgan Chase was the only financial firm in the top ten companies posting jobs with the words “blockchain,” “cryptocurrency,” or “bitcoin” over the past year.
In February 2019, JPMorgan Chase unveiled JPM Coin, a plan to use blockchain to simplify payments between its clients, after earlier creating a version of the ethereum blockchain, called Quorum, designed to let enterprises capitalize on the benefits of using a shared ledger similar to bitcoin’s blockchain, but with more control over privacy and faster speeds.
The only companies to post more jobs than JPMorgan Chase were tech firms IBM and Cisco, and consulting firms Accenture, EY, KPMG, and Deloitte, the last of which posted more jobs than any other company. Wrapping up the top-ten list was Microsoft, ethereum incubator ConsenSys, and little-known Conduent, which spun off from Xerox in 2017 and builds platforms for big businesses and governments.
"It’s notable that there’s a lack of financial and banking companies hiring for something that’s made to replace money," said Indeed.com economist Andrew Flowers, who has been following the hiring trends for over a year. Doubly notable, he added, was that for the first time ever, there are more job postings than searches.
From February 2018 to February 2019, the share of job searches per million on the job site decreased by 67%, Flowers said, further correlating the drop to the decrease in the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. "Job-seeker interest has collapsed because it tracks the price of bitcoin," Flowers says. "Job seeker interest is as volatile as the price of bitcoin."
While the survey doesn’t speculate as to the reason the job postings have increased in spite of the price drop, one possibility is the recent increase in the number of large companies exploring non-cryptocurrency applications of blockchain. While the decentralized, shared blockchain ledger that powers bitcoin first promised to let individuals move value without middlemen like banks, enterprises are exploring how similar shared ledgers can enable other movements of value without other middlemen.
To give some broader perspective on the trend, the Indeed.com survey shows a 4,086% increase in related job postings to the site since 2016 and a 553% increase in job searches over the same period. To help fill the gap in demand between job postings and searching, traditional institutions like UC Berkley and specialized programs like the Blockchain Education Network are evolving to train up-and-coming talent.
Demand for these jobs is largely centered in expected areas, with Silicon Valley and San Francisco taking the top two positions for most job postings, followed by New York City, Newark, New Jersey, and Jersey City, which collectively held the third position. Rounding out the top ten geographies posting jobs including the words “blockchain,” “cryptocurrency,” or “bitcoin” are Austin, Texas, Seattle, Denver, Washington, D.C., Boston, and Los Angeles.
