New York, Silicon Valley Top Regions with Technology Job Openings: Report

A monthly report from technology job board Dice shows increases in job postings in a number of larger metropolitan areas. New York City and nearby New Jersey, as well as California's Silicon Valley, are expanding job openings. Austin, Texas, and Charlotte, N.C., also make the list of technology job expansion.

Unemployment in the United States has crested the 10 percent rate as of last week, and some big technology industry stalwarts have not been spared, including Microsoft, Sprint Nextel, Nokia Siemens and Real Networks. That was only in the last week. Yet some regions of the country that are experiencing heavy job loss are also seeing a few bright skies behind the dark clouds, says technology job board Dice. 

In its latest report, Dice has seen bigger demand for technology jobs in the Northeast region near New York City and its neighboring state New Jersey, as well as some growth out West in Silicon Valley in Northern California near San Francisco and other Bay area cities. 

"The fact that Dice job counts in Silicon Valley and New York are higher than they've been since the beginning of 2009 indicates companies and recruiters are willing to advertise more jobs. While that's not a perfect measure, we've found it's a good indicator of long-term direction for a region's technology employment," said Dice Senior Vice President Tom Silver in a statement. "Likewise, smaller technology markets such as Charlotte and Austin are gaining ground, with increases in job postings of 45 percent and 31 percent, respectively, from the beginning of the year."

New York saw a 16 percent jump in technology job postings from January 2009 until early November 2009. In January, the New York metro area had 5,634 postings, and in November it is up to 6,543. Silicon Valley, while not nearly the same as New York, has seen a 6 percent jump over the same time period. In November, Silicon Valley has 2,844 openings. 

"For the first time in more than a year, recruiters and hiring managers have more confidence in the underlying business climate, and some companies are beginning to selectively recruit," said Silver.

Dice is one of the largest technology job boards for full time contracting work for IT professionals and lists many contract positions. Contract positions can be an excellent source of full time work, say human resource and staffing experts, as they are auditions for showcasing skills and the ability to work with others. 

Temporary, freelance work and part time contract work is expected to expand in 2010, according to recent survey by Robert Half Technology. While 51 percent of those polled expect to hire full time employees in 2010, 40 percent expect to hire the services of part time employees and full time contractors or a mix of both that includes full time employees.