Philly had 2,163 IT job openings in January, 10th most in U.S., 26% increase from 2011

The Philadelphia region had 2,163 open IT jobs in January, a 26 percent increase from a year ago, and the 10th highest total in the country, according to a list compiled by IT Business Edge using Dice.com data.

“While the economy remains tight, IT job availability continues to outpace other sectors, especially in hard-to-fill skill areas. Tech hiring managers are resolute in their staffing priorities for 2012 — they need innovative professionals who design, code, build and operate. Indeed, developers dominate the new year’s most pressing hiring needs for a second straight year, although ops professionals make their list debut.

A combined New York and New Jersey total topped the list, followed by a combined D.C./Baltimore region and Silicon Valley. Philly was beat out by Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas and Seattle.

Other big cities like Houston, Phoenix and San Diego didn’t make the list, but still, as the country’s fifth largest, there’s surely more room for IT sector growth.