HotGigs 2007 IT Contract Workforce Report Reveals Top 20 IT Talent Areas

ERP, Web, Project Management Skills in High Demand Across North America

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Mar. 20, 2007 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Demand for contract workers with information technology skills is on the rise in the U.S. and Canada, with enterprise resource planning (ERP), Web development and project management skills leading the way, according to the HotGigs 2007 IT Contract Workforce Report, released today and available at ( www.hotgigs.com/2007cwr). The report is a key measure of IT skills in highest demand in North America.

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HotGigs Inc., an innovator in web-based staffing solutions, based its report on nearly 2 million searches for IT contract resources conducted on the HotGigs Staffing Exchange (www.hotgigs.com) during the fourth quarter of 2006. The report reveals employer demand for 20 key IT contract skills areas in top IT labor markets such as Austin, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Francisco and Tampa.

More than 10 percent of all searches focused on contractors' skills in ERP and packaged software systems. "This isn't surprising since most companies are making a strong push to implement and enhance the ERP systems that continue to run the lion's share of corporate business infrastructures," said HotGigs CEO and founder Doug Berg. SAP led the category, followed by searches for Oracle and Peoplesoft expertise. Contractors with solid experience in these skills currently charge bill rates in the mid-$100 per hour range, according to data from HotGigs Rate Exchange ( http://rates.hotgigs.com).

Web development (193,270 searches) was the second highest demand area. "We believe the push to 'Web 2.0' is responsible for the growing demand," said Berg. "There was a high backlog of projects sidelined by infrastructure and budget concerns that are now moving into development phase." ASP.Net, Javascript, HTML and PHP skills showed the highest demand, with strong growth also for AJAX developers.

Demand for project management skills (177,818 searches) closely followed, with companies seeking project managers experienced at leading large- and medium-sized teams.

Other high-demand IT skills areas included data development, analysis and design, client server development, networking, IT management, systems administration, data administration, quality assurance and testing, PC and desktop development, help desk and support, architecture, certifications, mainframe development, telecommunications, industries and applications, security and midrange developers.

"The market for IT consultants at the end of Q4 2006 showed some momentum going into 2007, and preliminary analysis of Q1 2007 numbers shows a strong up tick in demand," said Berg. "Bottom line: IT skills continue to be an extremely strong area for consulting."

Highest Contract Talent Demand Areas

RankCategorySearches
1.ERP and packaged software 236,389
2.Developers - web193,270
3.Project management177,818
4.Data development 158,745
5.Analysis and design116,733
6.Developers - client server108,288
7.Networking104,448
8.IT management103,368
9.Hardware/OS/Sys Admin92,175
10.Data administration86,282
11.QA and testing84,254
12.Developers - PC and desktop83,137
13.Help desk and support59,234
14.Architecture58,597
15.Certifications55,501
16.Developers - mainframe47,973
17.Telecommunication45,903
18.Industries and apps38,236
19.Security31,786
20.Developers - mid-range26,184
21.API's - standards and methods22,040
22.Technical writing20,969
23.Support14,768
24.Tech trainers13,843
25.Auditing12,645
26.Development tools12,502
27.Groupware8,235
28.Product management7,375
29.Developers - wireless6,983
30.Web analytics1,977

Source: The above statistics represent skills searches performed on HotGigs.com staffing exchange from October 1 to December 31, 2006.

About the HotGigs 2007 IT Contract Workforce Report

The report is a snapshot of demand for IT talent in the United States and Canada based on nearly 2 million searches for specific skills conducted on HotGigs.com during the fourth quarter of 2006.

About HotGigs Inc.

HotGigs Inc. delivers web-based staffing solutions that help companies manage their staffing supply chain. The HotGigs Staffing Exchange (www.hotgigs.com) is the largest staffing network that helps companies fill contract and full-time (fee paid) positions from its growing network of 13,000+ staffing firms and 56,000+ independent consultants.

HotGigs ContractCentral solution ( www.contract-central.com) helps companies manage their entire contract workforce through a centralized portal that automates sourcing and management of contract resources from their private network of preferred staffing vendors. Its Jobs2Web product (www.jobs2web.com ) helps companies drive top candidates directly to their corporate career sites from major search engines and free job posting sites, allowing them to build their own private candidate communities.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, the company was founded in 2003.

HotGigs, HotGigs Inc., the HotGigs logo, ContractCentral and Jobs2Web are trademarks or registered trademarks of HotGigs Inc.

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Report data is Copyright (c) 2006 HotGigs Inc. All rights reserved.

Send2Press(R) is the originating wire service for this story - www.Send2Press.com

NEWS SOURCE: HotGigs Inc.

Press Release Source: Send2Press

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