February-March 2007

I am happy to report that the overall economy is going along well. Firms are continuing to hire in large numbers. The stories in my office about companies trying to hire 50+ people of a similar sort are becoming pretty common.

Just as the stories about are about firms finding it difficult to find them.

In technology, a new class of jobs appeared in recent years--architects, both applications and enterprise architects using J2EE or SOA technologies, and to a lesser degree, .NET are a category of position that didn't exist a few years ago. Yet, many firms are looking to individuals with such experience for salaries ranging from $110000 - $165000. In consulting, travel is expected as part of the responsibilities.

What isn't in as much demand? Clerks? Mainframe programmers. Generally, older technology isn't in demand.

Can you find work even with a poor job history? Yes, but it's harder. A few years ago, it ws impossible.

People tell me that they are receiving a lot of calls about opportunities. A few years ago, people thanked me when I arranged an interview for them. Now, they have multiple interviews quickly and often feel overwhelmed.

The stock market took a 400 point dive yesterday. Maybe the boom is ending . . . but only in the stock market. The demographics on the labor market for the next year remain extremely strong and, I believe, will continue to into next year . . . barring terrorism, of course.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free meta job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to learn about his VIP program, or to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com. Job Search Universe is also available at www.jobsearchuniverse.com To add your firm’s career page to “The Universe” email the url to jobsearchuniverse@gmail.com.

For Jeff’s free recruiting ezine, NaturalSelection Ezine, designed to help human resources professionals, managers and business owners make even better hiring decisions, ,subscribe at www.thebiggamehunter.net.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him atthebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

If you have a question that you would like me to answer pertaining to job hunting or hiring, email it to me at:
thebiggamehunter@gmail.com

Chrysler announces massive layoffs

Automaker's restructuring will cost 13,000 workers their jobs

In the next three years, 13,000 Chrysler workers will lose their jobs under a wrenching restructuring announced Wednesday that eventually may lead to a DaimlerChrysler divorce.

The Chrysler unit of the German-American automaker announced its long-awaited plan at its Auburn Hills headquarters, saying it would cut 16 percent of the U.S. division’s worldwide work force, a move it hoped would return its U.S. operations to profitability next year.

The plan was announced only hours after Chrysler’s parent, DaimlerChrysler AG, said it was considering “far-reaching strategic options with partners” for Chrysler and that “no option is being excluded” as it reported a 40 percent drop in companywide profit for the fourth quarter. DaimlerChrysler’s U.S. shares rose nearly 7 percent by early afternoon.

BB&T To Layoff Hundreds Of Workers

BB&T is cutting about 700 jobs through layoffs and attrition to cut costs after years of acquisitions.

Officials for the North Carolina-based bank say some positions were eliminated through a hiring freeze that began last year and up to 300 employees could be laid off if they aren't hired elsewhere in the company. Nearly 30,000 people worked at BB&T at the end of 2006.

Any employees who are laid off will get severance pay and help with job placement. The company will look for places elsewhere in BB&T through March for laid-off workers.

The bank says a difficult interest rate environment has hampered revenue growth, putting pressure on banks to cut costs.

ADP National Employment Report Shows United States Added 152,000 Private Sector Jobs in January

ADP National Employment Report Shows United States Added 152,000 Private Sector Jobs in January

ROSELAND, NJ -- (MARKET WIRE) -- January 31, 2007 -- Private sector employment increased by 152,000 in January, according to today's ADP National Employment Report(SM). The ADP National Employment Report, created by ADP® Employer Services, a division of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP), in partnership with Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, is based on actual payroll data and measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month.

"We are committed to continually enhancing the ADP National Employment Report to provide unique and valuable information about the U.S. employment situation," said Victor Saliterman, ADP Senior Vice President, Marketing. "Beginning with February's Report to be released on March 7, the ADP National Employment Report will provide insight into employment in the goods-producing and service-providing industry sectors, as well as across various company sizes."

"Total nonfarm private employment rose 152,000 from December 2006 to January 2007 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the ADP National Employment Report," said Joel Prakken, Chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC. "The acceleration of employment in January suggests that the economy remained on solid footing heading into the new year, and that December's decline resulted from unusually large downward adjustments made at some firms to reflect the year-end reconciliation of employment records."

U.S. Employment Costs Rise 0.8% In The Fourth Quarter

ECONOMIC REPORT: U.S. Employment Costs Rise 0.8% In The Fourth Quarter

Wed, Jan 31 2007, 16:45 GMT
http://www.djnewswires.com/eu

ECONOMIC REPORT: U.S. Employment Costs Rise 0.8% In The Fourth Quarter

By Greg Robb

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) -- The costs of employing a worker in the United States moderated in the fourth quarter, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

Employment costs rose 0.8% in the fourth quarter, down from a 1.0% gain in the third quarter. This is the slowest pace since the first quarter of last year.

Wage costs increased 0.8% in the fourth quarter, also the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2006. Benefit costs rose 1.1%.

The increase in the employment costs index was below the expectations of Wall Street economists surveyed by MarketWatch, who forecast a 1.0% gain.

In the third quarter, wage costs had risen 1.0%, with wages up 0.9% and benefits rising 1.1%.

For all of 2006, the employment cost index increased 3.3%, the fastest since 2004. The ECI increased 3.1% in 2005.

Wages increased 3.2% in 2006, up from 2.6% in 2005. Benefit costs rose 3.6%, the lowest annual pace since 1999.

Employment costs are a major cause of worry for the Fed, which theorizes that inflation can only be sustained if workers force their bosses to pay higher compensation, which is then passed on to customers in the form of higher prices.

The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to hold overnight interest rates steady at the end of its meeting later on Wednesday.

But economists said the ECI report would support the Fed continuing to say that inflation is the greatest risk facing the economy.

Real -- that is, inflation adjusted - compensation rose 0.8% in 2006.

Real wages rose 0.7% in 2006 and inflation adjusted benefit costs increased 1.0%.

In the fourth quarter, private industry compensation costs rose 0.8%, with wages up 0.7% and benefits rising 1.0%. For government workers, compensation costs increased 1.0%, with wages rising 0.8% and benefits increasing 1.4%.

The employment costs index is a broader measure of compensation costs than the separate series of data on average hourly wages, which cover only about 80% of U.S. workers.

The average hourly earnings data has been much stronger than the ECI report. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased at 4.2%, the fastest growth since late 2000.

J. Alfred Broaddus, the former president of the Richmond Fed bank, said in an interview with MarketWatch that the ECI is a better measure of labor costs because the average hourly earnings data is tilted towards specialized workers.

The ECI covers more workers than the average hourly earnings series and covers a greater range of compensation costs, including fringe benefits, bonuses and perks.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department said fourth quarter gross domestic product rose 3.5%, much stronger than economists had expected.

Chrysler plans to cut 10,000 jobs

U.S. payrolls rise 111,000 in January

Data support the case for a soft-landing scenario, economists say


By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
Last Update: 11:28 AM ET Feb 2, 2007

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The nation's labor market softened slightly in January, good news for investors worried about the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates, economists said Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 111,000 in January, the Labor Department reported, growth tat was below market expectations calling for an increase of about 170,000 jobs.
And the jobless rate ticked up to 4.6% in January, marking the highest rate since September. In other signs of weakness, wage growth eased and the workweek declined in January. Read full government report.
The unemployment rate had been expected to hold steady at 4.5%. See Economic Calendar.
Economists said the employment data would warm the hearts of Fed policymakers.
"The January employment report paints a perfect picture of the U.S. economy and labor markets making a 'soft landing,' " said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Group Inc., in a research note.
The U.S. central bank chose to hold its overnight interest-rate target at 5.25% earlier this week. But Fed policymakers pointed to tightness in the labor market as the reason why they may have to hike rates again in coming months to combat inflation. Read full FOMC coverage.
Although the economy slowed in the second and third quarter, the labor market remained tight. Fed officials described this as a puzzle.
However, Friday's report suggests that the weakness may just have been delayed. See Capitol Report.
"The report supports the view of an extended Fed hold on interest rates," said Nigel Gault, U.S. economist for Global Insight.
Many economists cautioned that it was much too early to say the labor market was weakening.
They noted that the report contained significant upward revisions for the fourth quarter. The government raised its estimate of job growth in the October-through-December quarter by a net 104,000 jobs.
In any case, the report was not weak enough to revive talk of rate cuts, analysts said.
It will take a "sustained" increase in the unemployment rate before the Fed would consider easing monetary policy and steering rates lower, said David Bezic, economist at CIBC World Markets.
Details of the report
Average hourly earnings increased by 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $17.09 in January. Hourly earnings are up 4.0% in the past year. Hourly earnings in December were revised down slightly to a 0.4% gain, compared with the initial estimate of a 0.5% increase.
The average workweek fell by six minutes to 33.8 hours in January from 33.9 hours. Total hours worked in the economy fell by 0.1%. Hours worked in the manufacturing sector fell by 12 minutes to stand at 40.8 hours, and factory overtime also declined.
In January, most of the job growth came from the services sector.
Service-producing industries added 104,000 jobs, including 31,000 in education and health services and 25,000 in professional and business services. Retail added 4,000 jobs.
Government added 14,000 jobs.
Goods-producing industries added 7,000 jobs, while construction spending added 22,000.
Manufacturing firms lost 16,000 jobs last month. Jobs declined in the sector despite the settlement of a 12-week strike at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT :
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

Friday's employment report also contains the Labor Department's annual benchmark revisions.

Greg Robb is a senior reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.

IT Salary Report: How Do You Stack Up?

January 29, 2007
By James Maguire

The most recent IT salary numbers have been tabulated by Dice, the tech job site, and they have a rosy glow to them.

“Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen a 20 percent increase in the number of jobs posted,” says Dice CEO Scot Melland. “And that’s coming off of huge increases in ’04 and ’05. So this is still a growing tech job market.”

The increase in number of positions means it’s more difficult for companies and recruiters to find qualified people to fill these jobs. Consequently, the magic of supply and demand has pushed up pay levels.

The average IT salary rose a respectable 5.2 percent in 2006, according to Dice.

It’s this 5.2 percent increase that Melland, surveying all the job data, finds the most noteworthy. While this number is a national average – and therefore varies widely based on IT specialty and region – still, “You put that up against the averages for other industries, and other skill areas, and that’s great.”

Looking at 2007, Melland notes that it would be very hard for the tech industry to replicate the job growth of the last few years, as it emerged in 2003 from the slump. But the job trendline appears to be continuing upward.

Peering into the crystal ball for 2007 job growth, “I would foresee a continuation of what we saw in ’06, which was a nice steady growth across all the traditional technology skill sets,” he tells Datamation. “There’s going to be a lot of competition for qualified tech professionals.”

Average Salary by Title, 2005-2006

The following salary averages are based on a survey of 19,000 tech professionals:

IT Executive: 2005: $104,504 // 2006: $108,578

Project Manager: 2005: $93,009 // 2006: $96,475

Database Administrator: 2005: $81,301 // 2006: $85,441

Software Engineer: 2005: $78,807 // 2006: $83,524

MIS Manager: 2005: $82,824 // 2006: $82,510

Business Analyst: 2005: $77,158 // 2006: $82,288

Developer: Database: 2005: $73,768 // 2006: $79,911

Security Analyst: 2005: $74,874 // 2006: $79,412

Developer: Systems: 2005: $72,732 // 2006: $78,476

Developer: Applications: 2005: $73,636 // 2006: $78,037

Developer: Client/Server: 2005: $75,941 // 2006: $74,602

(Salary data courtesy of Dice.)

Not surprisingly, the IT professionals who command the top salaries are those possessing complex skills sets that require long experience to truly master. Hence, those experts who understand the labyrinthine intricacies of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance (SOX), or the big-picture challenges of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), can expect to be well compensated.

In addition to the skills listed below, Dice reports that some of the most consistently sought-after skills are Oracle (average salary: $85,049) and Java/J2EE (average salary: $82,851).

Average Salary by Technology Skill Set, 2006

ERP: $96,161

Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX): $91,998

CRM: $90,499

SOAP: $89,243

Solaris: $87,476

Business Analyst: $77,158

AIX: $87,309

SAP: $86,149

Microsoft Project: $85,870

Siebel: $85,861

Sybase: $85,049

(Salary data courtesy of Dice.)

One of the key trends seen in the salary report is the growth of the West Coast tech market. “What we’ve seen over the last couple years is the resurgence of Silicon Valley, and the resurgence of San Diego and Seattle and that whole part of the U.S.,” Melland says. “So now it’s reflecting in salaries.”

IT Salary by Metro Area, 2005 - 2006

Silicon Valley: 2005: $85,430 // 2006: $90,310

Boston: 2005: $79,211 // 2006: $80,308

New York: 2005: $76,382 // 2006: $80,006

Baltimore/Washington D.C.: 2005: $75,593 // 2006: $79,911

Seattle: 2005: $73,105 // 2006: $79,787

Los Angeles: 2005: $73,911 // 2006: $79,583

San Diego: 2005: $72,163 // 2006: $79,416

Denver: 2005: $74,823 // 2006: $77,317

Sacramento: 2005: $72,355 // 2006: $75,197

Chicago: 2005: $71,496 // 2006: $75,154

Phoenix: 2005: $70,023 // 2006: $74,976

Dallas/Ft. Worth: 2005: $71,494 // 2006: $74,656

Philadelphia: 2005: $71,881 // 2006: $72,786

(Salary data courtesy of Dice.)

Once again, the banking, financial services and insurance industries offered the best compensation packages to IT professionals – and also saw a healthy year-over-year pay hike. But notice that e-commerce, while the lowest on the list, enjoyed a dramatic percentage gain.

IT Salary by Industry, 2005 - 2006

U.S. Average: 2005: $69,700 // 2006: $73,308

Bank/Financial/Insurance: 2005: $76,092 // 2006: $82,504

Telecommunications: 2005: $72,430 // 2006: $78,003

Computer Software: 2005: $74,730 // 2006: $77,582

Government/Defense: 2005: $69,078 // 2006: $75,086

Medical/Pharmaceutical: 2005: $71,714 // 2006: $72,717

Manufacturing: 2005: $66,732 // 2006: $71,878

Internet Services: 2005: $65,426 // 2006: $71,854

Computer Hardware: 2005: $66,462 // 2006: $69,987

Retail/E-Commerce: 2005: $55,909 // 2006: $63,830

(Salary data courtesy of Dice.)

Perhaps the most surprising finding from Dice’s salary report: the largest percentage gains in 2006 were made by the least experienced workers. Why such a big increase for newbies?

It may be a reaction to the smaller number of computer science graduates, Melland says. “What you’re seeing is a little bit of supply and demand at the post college level.”

One of the factors causing the decrease in computer graduates is the slew of headlines about Indian outsourcing. Based on some media reports, the entire American IT industry will be relocated to Dehli sometime in the next 18 months. The reality is that offshore outsourcing currently eats up only a small slice of the domestic IT budget.

Additionally, news reports of tech layoffs in the 2000-2001 crash made IT look still less attractive.

The combined influence of these two factors have “created this perception that [IT] is a risky track,” Melland says. “In fact, when we do our satisfaction survey, what tech people are telling is that they would recommend this career track. And if you look at the pay and benefits, it’s very attractive.”

Average IT Salary by Years of Experience, 2005 – 2006

Less than 1 year: 2005: $37,471 // 2006: $42,414

1 - 2 years: 2005: $41,229 // 2006: $46,935

3 - 5 years: 2005: $52,363 // 2006: $55,922

6 - 10 years: 2005: $68,355 // 2006: $72,707

11 - 14 years: 2005: $80,933 // 2006: $83,907

More than 15 Years: 2005: $86,332 // 2006: $90,125

Surprising no one, the Dice salary report finds that the higher a tech worker's salary, the higher their satisfaction level. Is that because happier workers do a better job, and therefore earn more, or is it because without a sufficient salary, a worker can’t be happy? The truth may lie somewhere in between, but at any rate this data point probably isn’t IT specific.

“This has less to do with IT and more to do with that fact that, the people earning less are probably more likely to think they’re not being fairly paid, so that’s going to hurt their satisfaction level,” Melland says.

Average IT Salary by Level of Satisfaction, 2006

(The middle number indicates what percentage of workers fall into that category.)

Very satisfied: (14%) $91,234

Somewhat satisfied: (39%) $80,046

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied: (14%) $70,497

Somewhat dissatisfied: (21%) $62,845

Very dissatisfied: (11%) $50,180

(Salary data courtesy of Dice.)

Unfortunately, the salary numbers below show that the gender gap in pay levels that runs throughout the working world also exists in IT.

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the salary inequality in IT is far less than that of other industries. Melland notes that recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor shows that, across all industries, men make about 19% more than women. In contrast, the numbers from the tech industry look less onerous.

Percent Women Earn Less Than Men by IT Industry, 2006

Medical/Pharmaceutical: -11.5%

Telecommunications: -10.0%

Computer Software: -9.8%

Bank/Financial/Insurance: -9.5%

Government/Defense: -8.4%

Retail/E-Commerce: -8.3%

Manufacturing: -8.0%

Internet Services: -7.5%

Computer Hardware: -7.1%

Freightliner to layoff up to 1,180 at N.C. plant

Jan 26, 2007 04:19 PM

Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. – Truck manufacturer Freightliner LLC said Friday it would lay off up to 1,180 workers at its assembly plant north of Charlotte because of falling orders.

Freightliner, a unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, said the job eliminations were necessary because buyers have been hesitant to purchase trucks equipped with new and expensive technology to curb diesel exhaust emissions. New standards governing diesel emissions in the U.S. and Canada took effect Jan. 1.

The layoffs will take place April 1 at the plant in Cleveland, about an hour north of Charlotte. The plant currently has more than 4,000 workers and is the largest employer in Rowan County. The company said the plant will scale back from three shifts to two, and the potential to rehire the laid off workers will depend in part on whether customer demand improves.

Portland, Ore.-based Freightliner, North America's leading medium- and heavy-duty truck manufacturer, said in December there would be a series of production rate adjustments at its plants during the first quarter of 2007. It said those moves could affect more than 4,000 workers.

Plant workers are organized by the United Auto Workers. A person answering the phone at the UAW's local office inside the Cleveland plant referred calls the local's president, who didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

The UAW local's website says the plant produces more than 200 heavy-duty trucks a day, including the Columbia, Century Class and Argosy models.