High-tech employment back on high wire
Leading U.S. trend, hiring rebounds strongly in Colorado
Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News
Published February 14, 2006 at midnight
It's about time.
Six years after the Internet bubble burst, Colorado's high-tech job market is staging a notable comeback. And by one gauge, the Mountain states region is the strongest in the nation - thanks to a recovery in the tech economy.
Industry executives and recruiters said the local market for technology jobs is healthy, despite dozens of job cuts at Oracle Corp.'s Denver operations last week. Job candidates are getting multiple offers and salaries are rising.
"It's the strongest it's been in five years. No doubt about it," said Brad Weydert, president of Statera, an information technology consulting firm in the Denver Tech Center.
Statera, which employs about 125 here, hired 19 people in January and six so far in February. The company has more than 40 local job openings. It's been seeking software developers, project managers and sales staff.
"The job market right now is good for technology," said Andrew Albarelle, principal executive for Remy Corp., a Denver information technology staffing firm.
His firm has received 68 résumés from laid-off Oracle employees who were cut in a companywide effort. But Albarelle is bullish on their prospects.
"There are a lot of openings in Colorado for those people," said Albarelle.
Recruiters report demand for software developers, project managers, sales representatives and others.
While not an outright boom, the strength is a change. Tech-heavy Colorado struggled more than most places to emerge from the high-tech meltdown that began in early 2000. Tens of thousands of tech jobs were eliminated.
The positive high-tech job outlook here matches the national trend.
Companies are again investing in technology projects and consumers are busy snapping up computers, i-Pod music players and other gadgets.
That translates into demand for tech workers.
"The tech job market was flat on its back throughout most of the decade," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com. "It's now back on its feet. I expect it to break into a jog this year."
Zandi expects the tech industry nationally will post its strongest year since 2000, churning out 217,000 jobs with rising wages.
According to a survey from Robert Half Technology, the Mountain states - which run from Colorado to Arizona to Idaho - are the hottest tech job market in the nation.
The high-tech staffing firm also said the strength of Denver's high-tech job market matches the national average.
The survey found that 15 percent of Denver-area chief information officers plan to add staff in the first quarter. Three percent anticipate cuts, based on the 200 respondents in the survey.
The net difference between the two figures - a positive 12 percentage points - is up 2 points from the area's fourth-quarter 2005 forecast and mirrors the average for the nation.
Companies that are hiring tech workers vary. They include: software makers Rally Software Development in Boulder, IQNavigator in Denver and Privacy Networks in Fort Collins; Arapahoe County-based Jeppesen Sanderson Inc., a producer of flight information for airlines and private fliers; and Douglas County-based engineering and construction company CH2M Hill.
"Hiring is definitely up," said Brad Feld, managing director at Superior-based Mobius Venture Capital, which invests in local tech companies.
"Most of my companies have been adding people at a steady clip across all parts of the company, but especially in engineering and sales."
What's more, job candidates are seeing upward pressure on salaries. That's a stark contrast from the depths of the economic slump here.
"Four or five years ago companies could fill a $100,000-a-year job for $85,000. But now they can't do it," said Judy Kennelley, president of Integrity Network, an Arapahoe County high-tech executive search firm.
"It's much more competitive for hiring managers or employees."
fillionr@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2467
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