As 2008 begins, Dice's number of IT job listings for Raleigh is an optimistic indicator: Listings there were up 11 percent in the fourth quarter, making it the only city of the top 20 Dice tracks to yield a net gain. Though the number of listings is below the total from a year ago, more than 800 jobs are currently available.

Indeed, the quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which covers all industries, found that from January to March an unimpressive 10 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, says Jeff Stocks, a Manpower spokesperson. Meanwhile, Dice's salary survey for North Carolina finds the average IT salary there is $67,470, down almost 5 percent - and well below the national average.

Still, there are some bright spots that job hunters may want to research. Fidelity Investments has committed to adding 2,000 jobs to the 1,000 it already provides in the Research Triangle Area. Optimal Technologies US Inc., a software and technology provider for electrical utilities and consumers, announced it will move its headquarters from Canada to Raleigh, creating 325 jobs. Positions at Optimal will include highly specialized circuit designers, software programmers, engineers, management and marketing professionals. Motricity, a Durham-based provider of mobile content services, raised $185 million in a round of venture capital and acquired the mobile services business unit of InfoSpace.

All that action isn't enough to convince Dice forum commenter "Moejj" that Raleigh is hot for IT. "Unless you are an Oracle DBA with 7+ years experience, can write Java, and can magically replace an entire IT department by yourself, it's dead here," he writes. "Ten years ago, this was a fantastic place to be a techie, that came to a screeching halt back in 2001." That may be why the local and state governments are extending such warm and lucrative welcomes to companies willing to relocate to the area.

According to Sapphire's Reed, the pharmaceutical, financial, and wireless industries have a strong appetite for IT talent in the area. She sees a need for .NET developers, Java architects and developers, SQL DBAs, business analysts, project managers, and QA testers. Those people "are consistently in demand," she says.

So in Raleigh, 2008 kicks off with mixed signals. As in other cities, Web developers seem to have a leg up, while everyone else may have to struggle a bit to find the perfect position.