| July 2006 |
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| Dice job postings in Baltimore are up 9% in Q2 |
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The battle for talented IT workers in Baltimore is heating up once again. As companies continue to look for innovative ways to lure talented professionals, public and private investments continue to increase demand.
“Because of the great demand in the government sector, we created new vertical resources to help penetrate that market,” said Kathy McNabb, vice president of Sapphire Technologies, an IT staffing firm. “There is so much money being pumped into the area.”
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In fact, Baltimore is likely one of the country’s top benefactors of federal monies -- a direct result of living in Uncle Sam’s backyard.
Federal government spending drives the state's economy and creates jobs in Maryland at a rate nearly three times the national average, according to a recent federal report.
And that has resulted in a surging tech sector and hot IT job market.
Maryland just had its best year of job growth since the technology boom went bust back in 2000, according to U.S. Labor Department numbers, and many are predicting an even more robust 2006.
“There is a very strong demand for IT employment in the Baltimore area, but it’s not limited to the government sector,” said Scot Melland, CEO of Dice, the leading technology career site. “Many of the hiring companies and recruiting agencies who use Dice observe a tightening in both public and private labor markets.”
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| "Clearly the supply of talent has shrunk while the price for them has gone up" |
| - Kathy McNabb, VP of Sapphire Technologies |
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Hiring qualified workers now ranks among the top concerns of local business leaders, according to a survey of Greater Baltimore Technology Council's members.
Online recruitment also shows continued growth in IT hiring. During Q2 2006, technology job listings on Dice increased 9% in Baltimore, from 1,018 in March, to 1,111 in June.
While the numbers continue to change, the skills remain the same. The most sought-after IT skills right now, according to Dice, include Oracle, SAP and Java.
“Clearly the supply of talent has shrunk while the price for them has gone up,” said McNabb.
However, it is not big government alone driving the hiring demand.
Maryland’s state government has been recognized nationally for fostering new technologies.
Last month the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) were once again recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as two of the top technology seed fund investors in the U.S. in 2005.
It was the third consecutive year both groups were recognized and TEDCO ranked number one on the "VC 100" list. The magazine’s awards are based on the "MoneyTree Survey" from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association.
"The abundance of research facilities in the state and our early stage funding programs are increasingly making Maryland a very attractive location to launch a business for many of the nation's entrepreneurs," said Aris Melissaratos, secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.
And while money pours into the state’s most innovative biotech and IT firms, wages have also risen with the growing tide of money, according to Dice.
Nationwide, the average high-tech salary grew 5.1%, to $69,000 in 2005, a telling leap compared to a year earlier, when it grew at 4.3%, according to a study conducted by Economy.com.
And it’s no longer just the certified IT worker commanding the big bucks, according to Foote Partners, an IT compensation and workforce management research firm.
“It’s an accelerating trend, the fact that IT skills without certification are growing in value 70% greater than certified skills over the past year,” said David Foote, president and chief research officer for Foote Partners. “While technical skills are still important, employers are not placing the same premium on certification of these skills they once did.”
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