Without a doubt, California is among the states hardest hit by the economic downturn. Certainly, IT workers in the manufacturing and real estate have felt the impact. But, at least so far, technical professionals specializing in healthcare and emerging technologies are still seeing opportunities.
Kevin Jenkins, an IT recruiter at Los Angeles-based Tech-Source, hasn't felt the pinch of the economic slowdown. A good 90 percent of his clientele is based in L.A.'s emerging, startup sector. These are the companies looking for Software as a Service (SaaS), Web 2.0, social networking and Web portal application developers.
And, so far, Jenkins hasn't seen much of a slowdown in the demand for top-quality IT workers.
"In the last six months, I personally have not experienced a drop off as a result of the recession," Jenkins says, adding that in November, he placed three Cold Fusion software developers. "For my clients, IT is not a function of the company. It's the whole company," he goes on. "They need IT people to continue to stay competitive. And the types of clients I service have had massive amounts of venture capital funding, so they're not affected by the economy in the same way."
However, the same can't be said for Web and graphics design specialists. Robert Evans, who is based in Orange County and has worked as a Web and graphic designer for 11 years, isn't finding a lot of opportunities, particularly in the hard-hit commercial and real estate market. “I’m finding the market is at a complete standstill,” he says. “It has very much dried up.”
As a major city, Los Angeles has the benefit of a well-rounded economy, gaining strength as numerous verticals and the medical industry still offer a number of opportunities. At the same time, industries such as financial and real estate are beginning to feel economic pain. Companies that aren't in healthcare or sell something other than technology services or products have been adversely impacted. In particular, manufacturing and financial service companies are struggling, says Jenkins.
“Unfortunately, these types of companies happen to employ 75 percent of the IT workforce,” he says. “So a vast majority of IT workers have been affected by the recession.”
This year, the number of IT jobs posted on Dice’s site has steadily declined since July. At the end of November, 3,412 jobs were listed.
Steve Soares, a branch manager at Los Angeles-based recruiter Sapphire Technologies, says there have been numerous layoffs and hiring freezes in the area, particularly within the financial services sector.
However, there's good news: Not many have stayed unemployed for long.
"It seems many of the people laid off have been able to secure new positions fairly quickly,” says Soares. "There's still a demand for top-level IT resources in our market. In addition, we've seen increased need for contractors with a couple of clients as a result of mergers between financial institutions and the integration activity associated with the mergers."
Still, Soares allows the overall IT employment climate has gotten colder. In recent weeks, recruiters have seen demand from clients slow down, though it's hard to determine exactly how much of that softening is caused by economic conditions versus typical seasonal factors. Soares expects to have a better idea of the job market's state sometime in early 2009.
The area's vaunted entertainment industry continues to hire. "We've recently helped fill a few positions within the digital media industry, and I have seen requirements in gaming as well," says Soares. "The skill set that seems to be highest in demand within digital media and gaming is Web development. We've also seen demand for SAP expertise, business analysis, systems administration and database administration."
One Los Angeles-based systems administrator, who requested anonymity, says work for the area's technologists remains consistent. In addition to the entertainment sector, he sees demand strong within the legal and medical industries. In general, he believes a number of Storage Area Network (SAN) administrators and systems administrators are needed, though he's not seeing a lot of demand for SAN architects.
Los Angeles Job Postings Showed a Decline Throughout Late 2008 |
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