Of the approximately eight million jobs that were lost in the "big one" recession of 2008 and 2009, only about one million jobs have been recovered so far, a pitiful labor market recovery by virtually any standard.  Many economists today are predicting that it will take at least three to five more years before we recover these lost jobs and just get back to 2007 employment levels.

While the labor market as a whole continues to struggle, the the labor market for technology professionals exists in a parallel universe of high demand and short supply. In the Seattle area, for instance, technology employment surpassed its previous peak (of mid 2008) in the first half of 2011, while hiring remains brisk (see graphic below), and rates of unemployment are trending to near to zero percent for experienced technology professionals with current skill sets.  In the past couple of years, Google, Facebook, Zynga and several other technology stalwarts have built new (or expanded their existing) workforces in the Puget Sound region, while Microsoft, Amazon and other technology firms headquartered here continue to expand their labor forces.

Hiring for experienced technology professionals in the Puget Sound and Silicon Valley regions in particular has been quite brisk over the past year, prompting several calls and anecdotal reports from our contacts in the industry reporting of recruiting difficulties, wage compression issues (having to hire new employees at rates in excess of rates for similar employees already employed) and general stresses to hiring, payroll, and equity allocation budgets.

It's quite paradoxical that in this weak economy, while most areas of the economy is struggling, demand for technology professionals is reaching near "bubble" levels, with wage rates rising at a pace well in excess of the approximately 3% rate reported in most recently-published salary budget surveys.

The situation has become so acute that recently we issued a "special market update" to companies that we work with to help them understand and address these issues.  If you would like a copy of our recent client communications concerning these issues, please contact me at doug@appliedHRstrategies.com.

Join us for our 2011 annual "Reward Trends and Salary Planning" workshop at the Seattle Harbor Club.  Due to the issues described above, we are adding a special section to our fall program concerning dealing with the current high-demand/low-supply  environment for experienced technical professionals. See here for more information.

Is the technology sector about ready to turnaround, or has it at least hit bottom?

The Department of Labor says that technology related-employment actually rose by 7,400 in July, after several months of declines. Granted, 7,400 jobs isn't a lot for the entire country, but that sure beats the 247,000 jobs that were lost overall, and one of the first really positive bottoming-out signs seen yet, at least in the employment arena, which tends to be a lagging economic indicator.

To date, most of the euphoria about the economy bottoming has been about things getting less bad, as opposed to seeing actual positive numbers (like increased retail sales or increased hiring). So, to see the technology sector actually increasing employment is a huge plus.

Of course, one month does not make a trend, but this at least indicates that a bottom is near or here, at least in technology.

If you work in the technology sector, have you seen any positive changes? Leave a comment about what you're seeing in your crystal ball.