| January 2007 |
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| Job seekers may need to wait out a slow first quarter |
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| Ask Hartford's advocates why it's an attractive place to do business, and they'll point out that it's "strategically located at the center of the powerful Boston-New York economic region, home to many major corporate headquarters, and equipped with high-speed bandwidth running both north and south and east and west giving businesses exceptional telecom service at lower cost."
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That all sounds good, and with the region's long history of hosting huge service industries--who could possibly count the number of computers needed to keep the insurance industry humming along?--IT workers can assume that they'll always have at least a few good job listings to sift through.
"Insurance, healthcare, and pharmaceutical are the cornerstones of the Connecticut marketplace, though growth in the lending, marketing, finance, web development, and software development sectors continue to add to the growing demand for IT professionals," said Bill Donegan, branch manager for IT recruiter Sapphire Technologies.
Who is most in demand? .NET web developers, application developers, business managers, and project managers, said Donegan. "We continue to see a growing demand for qualified candidates in the Connecticut market. Identifying and hiring those candidates remains a challenge for employers.
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| "Insurance, healthcare, and pharmaceutical are the cornerstones of the Connecticut marketplace" |
| - Bill Donegan, branch manager of Sapphire Technologies |
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Hartford's unemployment rate is a low 3.9%, but Central Connecticut employers expect to hire at a slow pace during the first quarter of 2007, according to the most recent Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. From January to March, just 21% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees. “In Central Connecticut, employers expect less hiring activity than in the fourth quarter," said Manpower representative Bob Neidermyer. For the coming quarter, Manpower said job prospects appear best in durable goods manufacturing and transportation/public utilities. IT staffing consultancy Robert Half Technology, whose first-quarter IT Hiring Index was just released, finds that 13% of Hartford CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter, a similarly mediocre number.
At Dice, 2006 was a good year for Hartford even if the fourth quarter job listings were down, in part due to seasonality. "For all of 2006, the overall trend was up," said Scot Melland, CEO of Dice. "Creative job hunters should seek to apply their tech skills in new ways to improve their chances of finding the right job."
And Sapphire's Donegan said he's enjoyed four straight years of growth in recruiting. "Connecticut is constantly impacted by the financial stability and hiring strategies of the state's top 15 employers. Several of the large healthcare companies have projected substantial growth in tech spending for 2007, and we expect to see that direct impact in our state. We expect to see a continued growth and demand for candidates in 2007."
Donegan added, "Because the insurance, healthcare, and pharmaceutical industries are looking for candidates with specific experience in their vertical, candidates should do everything they can to obtain that first assignment. Offering to accept a position at a reduced rate to land a six-month assignment will usually pay off down the road."
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 Hartford are up 23% since Jan. |
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