The Boston Globe has a pretty interesting dispatch about what it calls "a technology labor shortage" in Massachusetts, which has an overall unemployement rate of 7.6%:
Local recruiters say they are seeing three to five job openings for every candidate in the software development field. Workers with the right skills are being snatched up in as little as 24 hours, said Sean Dowling, technology contracting recruiting manager at Winter, Wyman Cos., a Waltham staffing firm.
"I've had people turn down $130-an-hour offers," he said.
More:
Midlevel technology skills are in high demand at GeoMed Analytical LLC, a life sciences start-up based at the Venture Development Center. The company is looking to hire technicians with laboratory and project management skills, not necessarily college degrees.
A college degree is no guarantee of success in the industry, said Robyn Hannigan, chief science officer at GeoMed. Technology is growing and changing so rapidly that by the time many students graduate, their knowledge is obsolete.