| April 2007 |
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| Financial services continue to lead the way, and Google looks good, too |
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| When Google showed up in New York City at the end of last year and put 500 smart tech experts to work, it was yet another sign that the city's high-tech reinvention, born out of the wreckage of the first dot-com bust (with 20,000 jobs lost), is continuing.
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In fact, according to the New York Software Industry Association (which is about to change its name to the New York High-Tech Coalition), the greater New York metro area has 813,000 people working in technology-related jobs, three times the number of San Francisco/Silicon Valley. Much of that employment is tied to the region's healthy financial services industry. It's been reported, for example, that Wall Street spends $80 billion on Internet technology annually.
Rich Mazelsky, regional vice president of Spherion Staffing Services, is feeling bullish about the months ahead, especially in the financial services arena. "Workers with experience in a variety of industries will become more attractive to employers in 2007, especially those hiring in the accounting and finance sectors. We're seeing a demand for workers who not only have technical accounting skills, but also possess the business acumen to manage important initiatives such as Sarbanes-Oxley compliance."
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| The greater New York metro area has 813,000 people working in technology-related jobs, three times the number of San Francisco/Silicon Valley |
| - New York Software Industry Association |
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Salaries reflect the influence of Wall Street's big bucks. The 2006 Dice Salary Survey found that the average IT salary in New York rose 4.74% over 2005 to $80,006, the third highest in the nation.
Adam Bilinski, branch manager for IT recruiter Sapphire Technologies, agrees with Mazelsky's assessment and is even more broadly optimistic, saying, "Demand for workers is strong. Usually we see one or two industries leading the hiring, but we are finding business is coming from all angles. Insurance, media, and technology companies seem to be consistently hiring."
Online marketing expert Shig Odani, whose most recent full-time job was eliminated last fall, says nevertheless, that in his industry, "It's a pretty good time to be looking for work in online advertising in New York right now since advertising dollars that used to be going to television, radio, and print are slowly finding their way into the online buckets. There's great demand for people who have experience in the field." Another area where Odani senses action is one that Bilinski also singles out: financial services. "It's one industry where, once you get past the entry level, salaries get really good for consultants and programmers."
IT staffing consultancy Robert Half Technology, whose second-quarter IT Hiring Index was just released, strikes a positive tone, finding that 18% of New York CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter, while only one percent expect to reduce staff. The quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which cuts across all industries, is more conservative, saying that from April to June, 13% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, according to Manpower spokesperson Jazmin Castro.
Dice job listings are also on the rise, increasing a healthy 22% after a terrible fourth quarter. Job seekers can explore close to 11,000 job listings for New York at Dice, and as the experts note, the financial services industries look especially strong.
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| Dice job postings in NYC are up 22% since Dec. |
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