| January 2007 |
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| The city and state see technology as vital to future economic expansion |
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| A quick look around Denver and Colorado shows an active technology sector. Colorado has the third largest space economy in the U.S., with 54,000 workers, and the state is home to four military commands, six space contractors, and 300 aerospace companies and suppliers. Denver has 4,700 biotechnology and pharmaceuticals workers and 7,300 workers in medical device and instrument production. Energy and alternative energy are also big, with 23,000 workers, and the financial services industry has about 90,000 employees. Software, too, is an active sector, with 90,000 employees.
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When the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation presented its monthly Economic Summary for November 2006 , it reported that venture capital had surged to a four-year high. "The influx of venture capital is testimony to our vibrant business environment,” said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver EDC. “We have the highly-educated workforce that sustains the type of innovative companies for which venture capital is vital to their success.”
Even FedEx has taken notice, breaking ground on a 170,000-square-foot facility due to come online in November 2007. Clearly things are happening.
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| "2007 promises to be a great year in the IT arena" |
| - John Deets, branch manager of Sapphire Technologies |
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Denver-area employers expect to continue hiring at a brisk pace during the first quarter of 2007, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which covers all industries. From January to March, 42% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees. Manpower said job prospects appear best in wholesale/retail trade, education, services, and public administration. And IT staffing consultancy Robert Half Technology, whose first-quarter IT Hiring Index was just released, finds that 13% of Denver CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter.
"Small to mid-size software development companies and large telecom companies are experiencing a lot of growth in the Denver/Boulder/Colorado Springs market," said John Deets, branch manager for IT recruiter Sapphire Technologies. "The unemployment rate in Colorado is at an all-time low in the tech industry, so every skill set is in high demand. However, the most requested skill sets are .NET developers and Oracle/SQL server DBAs."
Freelance IT security consultant John Taylor said that over the past two years he's had good success in obtaining relatively long-term contracts. "I think that anything web-based is strong here," he said. "Database management, quality assurance, Java, C#, and .NET are all in demand. I've also seen many ads for C++ developers and business analysts."
Deets also said he saw some of that venture capital money arriving. "There is a great blend of openings. Everyone seems to be hiring. We have noticed that a lot of VC companies are putting money into startups, which is great for new businesses in the area. Large companies are taking advantage of new technologies hitting the marketplace and are upgrading their systems and doing new development."
Even with a low 4.2% overall unemployment rate, politicians are looking to do better. According to The Denver Post in December, incoming governor Bill Ritter said that because Colorado may be unable to offer tax breaks or cash grants to bring in business, Colorado will emphasize more "human" factors such as work-life balance and an educated workforce. Ritter also wants to see Colorado's research universities develop closer ties to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, and he wants the private sector to bring new technologies to market.
Although the number of job listings at Dice was down in the fourth quarter, 2006 was a good year overall, with total listings up significantly in the past 12 months. "We expect that the dip in listings will reverse itself in the months to come," said Scot Melland, CEO of Dice. And salaries are heading up as well. The 2006 Dice Salary Survey reported that the average IT salary in Denver was up 3.33% over 2005. As Sapphire's Deets put it, "2007 promises to be a great year in the IT arena."
John Taylor agreed. "This area has taken longer to recover from the tech slump of 2000-2005 than other areas of the country. We seem to be in a growth period currently. This area is heavily high-tech, so the slumps and highs are sometimes more pronounced than in other areas."
If you would like to be interviewed for the next Dice market report, or if you have comments about this article, please contact us at feedback@dice.com.
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| Dice job postings in Denver are up 28% since Jan. |
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