Baltimore IT, finance firms prepared to hire

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Mar 22, 2005 by Joe Bacchus

Baltimore-area information technology and accounting and finance companies expect major second-quarter employment growth - faster growth than much of the rest of the United States - according to a recent report.

Two polls, conducted by IT staffing company Robert Half Technology, found businesses in those industries in the Baltimore area are more likely to hire new staffers next quarter than companies in other parts of the country.

The information comes from a survey California-based Robert Half conducted of 100 chief financial officers and 100 chief information officers from the Baltimore region as part of a survey of thousands of executives nationwide.

The CIO poll showed a net 16 percent of the company officers in the Baltimore area plan to increase their IT worker ranks in the upcoming quarter. The breakdown shows 19 percent planning future hires, with 3 percent planning future cuts. The national average was a net 9 percent.

The CFO poll showed similar numbers, with 11 percent anticipating growth in the areas of accounting and finance, and zero percent expecting they'd be cutting back in those departments. The national average was a net 6 percent.

In the second quarter of 2004 there were about 2.5 million people employed in Maryland, including 50,728 people in the information industry, and 155,658 in the financial services industry, according to state labor numbers.

While these projected second-quarter 2005 numbers are a good sign for the state, some in Maryland think the reality could prove even better.

The hiring data shows the tip of the iceberg, said Aris Melissaratos, secretary of the state Department of Business and Economic Development.

The growth in Baltimore - and the rest of Maryland - is a result of the state's concerted effort to increase its footprint in the technology industry and highlights Baltimore's successful shift from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy, he said.

Christopher K. Long, a principal of The Seva Group Inc., said he believes second-quarter growth for the region will be higher than the poll predicts. He pointed to Maryland's proximity to Washington and its growing role in the defense, homeland security and biotechnology industries as assurances that at least the near future will be a period of growth.

Almost everyone we talk to in this industry is hiring, he said. It would be fair to say the majority of IT departments are hiring.

Steve Woods, president of Owings Mills-based Workforce Metrics, also thinks the poll numbers are low. He sees the homeland security and biomedical industries at the heart of Maryland's continued growth. The positive growth prospects for Maryland are a reflection of the overall improved U.S. economy, he said.

Greg Mareski, president of Benchmark Sales Advisors LLC, cited economists who say the nation's economy is in the second or third year of a five to seven year upswing.

He also cited reasons a little closer to home. Part of the reason Baltimore companies are growing - and will continue to grow - so quickly is because of the large staff cuts area companies made after the tech bubble burst.

They cut very deeply, he said. When you cut deeper, you need to hire more aggressively to regain a balanced approach to fill your current needs.

Bill Pisano, director of the professional recruiting practice for Spherion Pacific Enterprises LLC, agreed. He said if companies want to grow, they have to invest in new technologies, and that naturally necessitates investing in new, skilled technology workers.

The only way to increase productivity is to invest in new technologies that will allow workers to do their job faster, he said.