What's New This Quarter
It’s been an active few months in the Research Triangle region. The number of available tech job openings rose by 8.1 percent in May, according to the latest IT Job Trends report prepared from the North Carolina Technology Association. State-wide, there were 4,280 openings, up from 3,960 in April. It marked the fourth straight month of IT job growth, though the trend will likely level off during the slower summer months.
In more ominous news,
IBM, which is believed to be the largest employer in Research Triangle Park, is cutting at least 6,000 jobs globally. There’s no word yet on local cuts. Startups should note that the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is bringing its 1 Million Cups entrepreneurship program to Chapel Hill. The weekly gathering is aimed at building startup communities and conversation over coffee, and is expanding to 20 cities this year. Every Wednesday morning, two early-stage startups will present their companies (in six minutes) to an audience of mentors, advisers and entrepreneurs. The program is held at the Research Triangle Foundation headquarters. Startups that launch in North Carolina have made a good choice: According to Chief Executive magazine’s annual Best & Worst States (for doing business) Survey, the state ranks No. 3.
Skills in Demand
Local recruiters say demand is strongest for database managers, network administrators, Web developers specializing in Java and .NET, business intelligence experts and data warehousing experts.
Salary Trends
According to TechAmerica, tech workers in Raleigh-Durham earned an average wage of $82,000 in 2009, 91 percent more than Raleigh’s average private sector wage. That could reflect the area’s reasonable cost of living.
Robert Half Technology says 14 percent of the area CIOs it surveyed plan to expand their teams this quarter, up 4 percent from the previous quarter. Fifty nine percent said they were confident that their firms would invest in IT projects in the third quarter of 2013.
Leading Industries
- Biotech/Science
- Pharmaceuticals
- Financial Services
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
Local Employment and Research Resources
