| October 2006 |
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| Prospects look brightest in financial services, pharmaceuticals, and insurance |
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| "While economic growth overall in Philadelphia seems to be moderate at best, the need for solid IT people has been outstanding in the last couple of years." That's the verdict of Steve Rosen, a 20-year veteran of software engineering in the Philadelphia area. Where should job seekers look for IT jobs in the City of Brotherly Love? Rosen quickly named the industries he believes have the best outlooks: financial services, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and consumer businesses.
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Rosen, who has worked both full time and as a contractor for many area businesses, gets a steady stream of interviews and contracts from his Dice listing. "The need for solid IT people has been outstanding in the last couple of years," Rosen said. "Companies have invested and relied heavily on technology and the need for good people with solid skills to both manage and advance this technology has grown steadily."
The local business boosters at Select Greater Philadelphia (www.selectgreaterphiladelphia.com) would be happy to hear Rosen's assessment. They pointed out that the region's economy is more knowledge-based than ever before. Industries that require highly educated and skilled workers now make up 43% of Greater Philadelphia's total employment. The organization also reported that just about half of all jobs in the area are industries that are highly dependent on IT expertise such as education, financial services, and information services. In fact, the IT sector is the sixth largest in the country. One of the largest employers is Comcast, with 25 current job openings running the gamut from data analysts to tech support and project management experts.
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| 12% of Philadelphia CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter. |
| - Robert Half Technology's fourth-quarter IT Hiring Index |
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Echoing that optimistic sentiment, the quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey has found that 22% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees in the fourth quarter, according to Manpower spokesperson Andrew Doline. Another 55% expect to maintain their current staff levels.
And IT staffing consultancy Robert Half Technology also finds hiring going on. Its fourth-quarter IT Hiring Index finds that a net 12% of Philadelphia CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter.
At Dice, the number of Philadelphia job listings dipped during the summer but rebounded quickly and are now close to their highest level for the year. Job seekers can search an impressive 3,500 current listings at Dice. Philadelphia's Rosen is a Dice advocate. "As a contractor, I now keep my resume permanently posted on Dice with specifics about my availability and geographic preferences," he said. "I get inquiries almost every day, and I talk to hiring companies and contracting firms on almost a daily basis. I've come to enjoy it a lot, and it has given me tremendous insight into how the IT job market operates."
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