| April 2007 |
 |
| The number of job listings is on the rise - and so are salaries |
|
| As spring comes to Texas, how's the IT job outlook in Dallas? Fairly strong, as it turns out. Unlike Houston, whose economy is more subject to the ebbs and flows of big oil, Dallas's diverse service sector is in constant need of technology experts to keep its computers humming.
|
|
"The market in this area is strong," said Bob Valecka, Dallas branch manager for IT recruiter Sapphire Technologies. "We have multiple clients with double digit job openings, and this is especially true in the telecom and financial markets." Valecka adds that good old-fashioned development talent is in demand. "The needs today are in core development IT. In the past, we've seen a greater number of analysis and managerial positions, but this has recently shifted, and now there is a greater need for developers and testers with hands-on skill sets."
Paul Reeves, a Dallas-area supervisor/commissioning engineer currently subcontracted to a major telecom organization, might beg to differ slightly. He said that despite his current work, "healthcare is the only industry that has promise." Reeves added that he's actually taken two pay cuts over three years as he finds himself competing with other IT experts in telecom, including HB-1 visa "guest workers."
|
|
| "Now there is a greater need for developers and testers with hands-on skill sets" |
| - Bob Valecka, branch manager of Sapphire Technologies |
|
Still, Dallas-area employers expect to hire at a healthy pace during the second quarter, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which covers all industries. From April to June, 27% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, according to Manpower spokesperson Maureen Marshall. “Hiring intentions are more positive than they were a year ago, when 24% of companies surveyed thought job gains were likely." At the same time, IT staffing consultancy Robert Half Technology, whose second-quarter IT Hiring Index was just released, finds that 16% of Dallas-area CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter.
A little bit of online research reveals some of the types of available IT positions. Business 2.0 magazine's list of fastest-growing companies identifies Texas Instruments as Dallas's hottest employer. Its current job listings include positions for program managers, product marketing engineers, internal auditors, and test development engineers.
At Dice, job listings for the Dallas market rose an impressive 22% in the first quarter over 2006's fourth quarter. And on the salary front, things are looking good as well. In the 2006 Dice Salary Survey, the average IT salary in the Dallas region was found to be $74,656, better than those of similar cities such as Houston and Atlanta and up 4.42% from the 2005 level.
So as 2007 progresses, Dallas is among the more vibrant and consistent of southern and southwestern cities in terms of IT employment and it’s certainly worth a look if your plans include relocation.
Comments on this article? Share your feedback on our discussion forum, Dice Discussions.
*Please note, you must be a registered job seeker in order to submit your question to Dice Discussions.
If you would like to be interviewed for the next Dice market report, please contact us at feedback@dice.com.
|
|
|
|
|
| Dice job postings in Dallas are up 22% since Dec. |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
