HOLLAND – Fifty-seven percent of west Michigan companies plan to hire new information technology staff during the next six months.

?Employers need to realize that candidates with the computer skills they seek are not easy to find and often have a choice of opportunities,? said Paragon?s chief recruiting officer Beth DeWilde. ?It is great to see the area?s economy making progress.?

Since the lows of two or three years ago, every industrial category has at least doubled the percent of companies that are increasing IT staff. Manufacturers, for example, have gone from 3- to 48-percent that plan to hire. Government and education, a category that did more hiring last year, has reduced its growth rate somewhat but still 30 percent are looking for staff.

Just over half the responding companies will be increasing IT salaries, though this growth does not seem to correspond to size, industry, or hiring growth. Mid level workers in applications such as website development will be in greatest demand. Overall these trends appear good news for technology professionals.

There are slightly more companies planning to use IT interns than in earlier years. Large companies are a little more likely to provide internships. Perhaps they feel this is an effective way of assisting in the education of their new workforce.

Paragon Recruiting, a local technology recruiting firm, has just released its new Technology Employment Forecast for winter/spring of 2012. The information in this forecast can be indicative of the overall business climate in west Michigan and help companies make their strategic decisions. Unlike the larger national outlook reports, this one is restricted to west Michigan and information technology jobs. About 100 mid and west Michigan firms of varying sizes and industries participate in this semi-annual forecast. Most have been faithful participants since the first forecast for 2003.

Various interesting statistics are compiled about the expectations of hiring by company size, industry, IT disciplines and skill levels. The following graphs are samples of forecasting trends.

For more information, click on ParagonUSA.Com

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