| July 2006 |
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| Dice job postings in Chicago are up 7% |
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An improving state economy and steady stream of seed funding in Chicago’s tech sector have business leaders in the Windy City expecting a sea of change downtown.
While venture capital continued to be a bright spot for the area as investments increased by 5% last year and tech exports grew by 12% in 2005, the improving state economy has the IT job market perking up.
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“Chicago is experiencing the right mix of good economic news and entrepreneurial confidence at the perfect moment,” said Scot Melland, CEO of Dice, the leading technology career site. “While we’ve seen an increased demand for IT employment all over the country, staffing firms and employment agencies using Dice report a favorable outlook for at least the remainder of the year.”
Recently, the Illinois Department of Employment Security announced that the state's overall unemployment rate for May had dropped to 4.6% from 5.1% in April. The one-month decrease of 0.5% was the largest single-month decline in Illinois since November 1993.
The Chicago metro area saw its unemployment rate fall from 6.2% in May 2005 to 4.2% last month.
“Chicago is an area that is going to continue to expand its IT job market,” said Larry Bruce, vice president of Sapphire Technologies, a national IT staffing firm. “There is already a big need now.”
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| "With all it has to offer, Chicago is primed to explode and thrive from an IT standpoint" |
| - Scott Melland, Dice CEO |
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Since job listings on Dice jumped an impressive 29% in the Chicago area during a recent three-month period, from 3,017 in December to 3,896 in March, the number has remained steady.
Much of the state’s high-tech business is centered in the Chicago metro area. And like many other big cities in the country, the problem in Chicago is no longer a scarcity of jobs but rather a shortage of qualified candidates available to fill growing staffing needs.
“With all it has to offer, Chicago is primed to explode and thrive from an IT standpoint,” said Melland. “And, in actuality it is thriving right now but there is a big need for talent.”
Chicago IT professionals reported earning an average yearly income of $71,400, according to a salary survey by Dice. The national average tech salary is $70,300. The most sought-after IT skills right now on Dice include Java, SAP and Oracle.
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.”
Now the rush is on to find qualified candidates that may not necessarily fit the job description 100%, but can grow into numerous roles within a company, according to Brian Gabrielson, national practice director with Robert Half Technology.
“Firms that are taking their time during the hiring process are now missing out on quality candidates,” said Gabrielson.
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| "Chicago is an area that is going to continue to expand its IT job market" |
| - Larry Bruce, VP of Sapphire Technologies |
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