In terms of technology, the biggest piece of good news to come out of Dallas recently was the announcement that Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerrys we all know and love, will open its U.S. headquarters in the Las Colinas Urban Center, just west of downtown and east of the airport. The 1,000 new jobs that will arrive are said to be in research and development, technology and business support.

Where else can you look for good IT jobs in the area? Bob Valecka, branch manager of IT recruiter Sapphire Technologies' Dallas/Fort Worth office, says an informal sampling of his clients found that many area CIOs are planning to increase their staffs in the first quarter of 2008. They're looking for systems and data analysts, application developers and database administrators. "DFW is very diversified in its industries, with a strong presence in retail, telecommunications, and financial services," Valecka notes.

Vaishali Shah, branch manager for recruiter Adecco Engineering and Technical in nearby Plano, says the top three in-demand titles she sees are Java architects, software developers and business analysts. "This has been a long-standing trend because Java, software and business analytics have become the backbone of IT for virtually every business," she explains. "The telecommunication industry has picked up in 2007, and so have the services and healthcare sectors."

The quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which covers all industries, found that from January to March, 24 percent of the area companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, reports Manpower Spokesperson Maureen Marshall. At the same time, recruiter Robert Half Technology's IT Hiring Index indicates a strong 17 percent of Dallas-area CIOs plan to hire new staff in the first quarter.

On Dice, job listings for Dallas dropped 8 percent during the fourth quarter after good increases in the first half of 2007. Traditional fourth-quarter seasonality may be at least partially to blame. Currently there are just over 3,100 jobs listed, and salaries are heading in the right direction.

Dice's annual salary survey shows that the area's IT salaries rose an average 2.55 percent in 2007, to $76,560. That's $2,000 ahead of the national average.The 2008 Robert Half Technology Salary Guide is even more positive, finding Dallas IT salaries to be 5 percent above the national average and noting strong demand for software developers/programmers, desktop support specialists and Web developers.

Unfortunately, almost one out of every three companies that has received state incentive money to create jobs has announced layoffs or been penalized for failing to meet employment goals, the Dallas Morning News reports. Eight of the 38 companies given grants have recently laid off workers in Texas or nationwide, and three others failed to meet thresholds for employment growth. They include Countrywide Financial, Washington Mutual, and Texas Instruments. In the case of TI, the company built a $3 billion chip plan in Richardson, but it has sat unused while TI has laid off 500 Dallas-area workers. Another company, NanoCoolers Inc., got a $3 million grant but went bankrupt anyway.

As 2008 begins, incidents such as these suggest Dallas has only a tenuous hold on its IT employment situation. So, the advice to Dallas job-seekers: Proceed with caution and cast a wide net.