Bach Seat

If you’re looking for a job in technology, come to Detroit. According to a report from VentureBeat Baltimore, Detroit and Pittsburgh have the best prospects for tech jobs. This comes from the Simply Hired July 2012 employment outlook.

Simply Hired’s Nathan Beers sliced the data and told VentureBeat that when you compare the number of available jobs and the number of currently employed technology workers, the best places in the U.S to be looking for a job are Baltimore, Detroit, Charlotte, and Portland. By this measuring stick, the Silicon Valley area ranks only eighth.

Simply Hired which bills itself as the world’s largest job search engine, has over eight million job listings. 30 million users check the service monthly from 24 countries, and Simply Hired powers the job search functionality on sites like LinkedIn and The Washington Post.

Here are all the details on the best markets for technology workers, according to Simply Hired:

1. Baltimore – Towson, MD
2. Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI
3. Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC
4. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
5. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
6. Pittsburgh, PA
7. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
8. Richmond, VA
9. Raleigh – Cary, NC
10. New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ

Forbes recently called Detroit a potential up-and-comer for tech jobs in the next decade. The article says even though the Motor City area lost 20% of its tech jobs in the past decade, it still boasts one of the nation’s largest concentrations of tech workers, nearly 50% above the national average. In the past two years, the region has experienced a solid 7.7% increase in technology jobs, the second-highest rate of any metro area.

The Forbes article says the Motor City region seems to have some real high-tech mojo. According to the website Dice.com, Detroit has led the nation with the fastest growth in technology job offerings since February — at 101%. This can be traced to the rejuvenated auto industry, which is increasingly dependent on high-tech skills. Manufacturing is the increasingly prodigious driver of tech jobs; games and dot-coms are not the only path to technical employment growth.

Simply Hired - July 2012	Forbes - May 2012
Baltimore, MD area	Seattle, WA area
Detroit, MI area	Washington DC-area
Charlotte, NC area	San Diego, CA area
Portland, OR area	Salt Lake City, UT
Seattle, WA area	Baltimore, MD area
Pittsburgh, PA	Jacksonville, FL
Milwaukee, WI area	San Jose, CA area
Richmond, VA	Columbus, OH
Raleigh-Cary, NC	Raleigh-Cary, NC
New York, NY area	Nashville, TN area

rb-

Umm- I’ve covered this phenomenon for a while here. here and here. On one hand, this seems to be true, it is nearly impossible to hire good tech staff, I know I’ve tried. On the other hand, I am still looking for a new gig.

Anybody hiring? Who wants to prove to me that Detroit Michigan is among the best US cities to find a tech job?

Related articles

• Five Stories About Jobs in Detroit (news.dice.com)

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.