Tech Wages Hit Highest Level in Seven Years But Growth Slows
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Hourly wages for highly-skilled technology professionals reached an all-time high during the fourth quarter of 2007. And though growth slowed sequentially at the end of the year, it still remained ahead of 2006, according to the latest Yoh Index of Technology Wages. The average hourly wage for high-impact technology workers was recorded at $32.39 during October, the highest average pay figure documented by the Yoh Index of Technology Wages since its inception in 2001.
However, reflecting the economy's sluggishness in late 2007, average wages dropped $0.88 in November from October. Similarly, while average wages had experienced a 7.1% increase in September, they were followed by 5.7% growth in October, and 3.4% improvement in November and December, when compared to the same months in 2006.
"Despite a sequential drop at the end of 2007, we continue to see strong wage growth year-over-year, and remain cautiously optimistic for the technology and professional job market in 2008," says Jim Lanzalotto, vice president of strategy and marketing for Yoh. "Weaknesses from other sectors of the economy may have permeated here and caused the decline. But customer demand is still strong, project backlogs are still full, and there are no signs that works in progress will be abandoned."
The Yoh Index of Technology Wages reached a high of 115.96 in October 2007, when indexed to January 2001 (1/2001 = 100), indicating a 5.7% increase in wage growth, when compared with the same period in 2006.
Week
2001
2006
2007
Change from 2006
40
100.18
107.63
115.28
7.1%
44
102.11
109.70
115.96
5.7%
48
103.04
109.02
112.81
3.4%
52
97.71
109.42
113.17
3.4%
"Technology workers in the job hunt should zero in on how their skills can help businesses be more profitable, better serve their customers, and improve efficiencies during a softening economy," says Lanzalotto. "While the overall market outlook is weakening, it is still a great time to be in the technology sector."
Compiled quarterly by Yoh, one of the world's largest recruiting services firms for high-impact technology and professional talent, the Yoh Index of Technology Wages is used by emerging technology and Fortune 500 firms as a guide for determining their quarterly salary scales. Each Yoh Index of Technology Wages report identifies the top job titles in highest demand, and provides an index to compare current average wages over the same period last year.
Based on conversations with more than 9,000 hiring managers in over 15 major metropolitan areas, Yoh has determined the skills most in demand for each market. Roles that appeared most frequently nationwide included:
Y Biostatistician
Y Civil Engineer
Y Clinical Research Associate
Y Firmware/Embedded Engineer
Y Java Developer
Y Mechanical Engineer
Y .Net Developer
Y Oracle DBA
Y Project Manager
Y SAP® Consultant (Functional/Technical)
The Yoh Index of Technology Wages provides a unique barometer of the changes in employer demand and supply of technology talent nationwide. It is not based on polls, surveys, projections, or other anecdotal evidence.
The Yoh Index of Technology Wages is built on solid data compiled by Yoh's 75 U.S. field offices, and uses actual employment activity of as many as 5,000 technology professionals outsourced on short- and long-term projects by more than 1,000 of the nation's top employers in the aviation, engineering, information technology, manufacturing, scientific, telecommunications, and utility industries.
For more information or to sign up to receive future editions of the Yoh Index of Technology Wages before they are released, please visit www.yoh.com/yohindex.
