| October 2006 |
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| Federal spending in the region is only part of the story |
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| Here’s an interesting fact that should inspire confidence in any IT expert looking for a good job in Baltimore: “For every qualified candidate we have three positions available,” said Timm Brown, Baltimore’s regional manager for IT staffing firm Sapphire Technologies. Brown, who has been an IT recruiter in the area for nine years, says he is used to fighting for talent, and he’s well aware of the escalating wages that usually come with it. “There is a lot of money being pumped into the area,” he said.
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As companies continue to look for innovative ways to lure talented professionals, public and private investments continue to drive demand. That’s because Baltimore will always benefit from its proximity to Washington D.C. and the trickle down effect of federal government spending. It’s the spending that drives Maryland’s economy and creates jobs at a rate nearly three times the national average, according to the state’s Department of Labor.
Baltimore native Chris Laker, a network administrator, said he has seen first hand the peaks and valleys in the region’s tech sector. “It has been improving for a while,” said Laker, who has worked in IT for 12 years. Laker added that after posting his resume on Dice he received on average two calls a day until he removed it after selecting his current position.
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| "For every qualified candidate we have three positions available" |
| - Timm Brown, Baltimore's regional manager for IT staffing firm Sapphire Technologies |
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The IT job market in Baltimore has been one of the steadiest in the nation over the past year. Job listings on Dice rose 3% in the third quarter. And Robert Half Technology’s IT Hiring Index predicts that 18% of Baltimore CIOs will be in hiring mode in the fourth quarter, a figure 5 to 10% higher than those reported for most major metro areas.
Meanwhile, the quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook survey found that Baltimore-area employers expect to hire at a bullish pace during the fourth quarter of 2006. From October to December, an impressive 48% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, according to Manpower spokesperson Kerry Welch. “Baltimore-area employers have significantly stronger hiring intentions than in the third quarter, when 30% of the companies interviewed intended to add staff, and 15% planned to reduce headcount,” said Welch.
Pay rates are marching in step. Dice research places the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area in the top five highest-paying metropolitan areas for technology professionals, with an average salary of $76,100. The national average tech salary is $70,300.
“There is solid demand for IT talent in Baltimore and a lot is driven by government spending,” said Scot Melland, CEO of Dice. “The region is experiencing the right mix of good economic news and entrepreneurial confidence at the perfect moment.”
“There are a lot of government contracts, but also a good number of clients in mid-market accounts creating the demand,” said Brown. “It is really a matter of finding talent anyway we can locate it now.”
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