Survey: Majority of Northeast Ohio IT companies upbeat about business
By CHUCK SODER
8:43 am, December 29, 2009
For the first time in a year, business appears to be improving for information technology companies in Northeast Ohio, though it may be a while before jobless IT workers see any benefit. Fifty-five percent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Northeast Ohio Software Association said business was “good” or “very good” during the third quarter of 2009. By contrast, that percentage hovered around 44% during the previous three quarters. Companies appear to be taking a “wait and see” approach to hiring, according to NEOSA's evaluation of the survey. Just 41% of respondents reported that they aren't hiring. Though that's way better than the 56% who weren't hiring in the first quarter, it's up from 37% in the second quarter and way above the 33% figure from the third quarter of 2008. Optimism, however, continues to grow among survey respondents, who consist of NEOSA members and others on the organization's mailing list. A healthy 87% expect the business climate to improve over the next 12 months, up from 74% in the second quarter and 71% in the first quarter. Plus, 54% expect to increase staff during the same time period, up from 49% during the second quarter and 45% in the first quarter. Brad Nellis, president of NEOSA, doesn't expect Northeast Ohio's IT companies to increase hiring much until late 2010. Even when they do, Mr. Nellis said it still could be difficult for unemployed IT workers to get jobs because of the unusual amount of talented people who are out of work.
“It's going to be even more important than normal for those people out of a job to get their skills up to date,” Mr. Nellis said.
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