July 18, 2008 (InfoWorld) IT staff jobs are at increasing risk -- both for contractors and in-house workers -- according to a survey of top CIOs by Goldman Sachs & Co. released last week. Global services companies will also feel the pinch because of the slowing economy. A second survey showed that basic PC and network hardware, as well as professional services providers, would bear the largest proportion of spending cuts. It also showed that CIOs planned to emphasize economizing measures over investments in new technologies, with cloud computing emerging as the last item on their priority lists, despite the hype around it.
IT contractors to bear the brunt of cuts
"Demand for discretionary IT projects dropped to its lowest point" in the 41-study history of the Goldman Sachs staffing survey, which asked 100 managers with strategic decision-making authority (mainly CIOs at multinational Fortune 1,000 companies) about their IT staffing plans for 2009.
The Sachs report states that "in a cost-constrained IT budget scenario, CIOs will most likely look to cut their resources first from lower-value augmented [contract] IT staff." The company also describes its survey as "an early warning flag" for service providers' 2009 bookings of new projects.
These intended cutbacks are a change from last fall. When the managers were asked in October which area of IT service delivery resources they would cut for application-related development or maintenance work, the answer was 0% for in-house employees. However, with a declining economy, 8% of respondents in a February survey said in-house IT programming staffers would be cut. In April, 15% of respondents said in-house staffers would be cut. That dropped to 11% in the June survey (the most recent).
But contract employees fare much worse. In the survey, 48% of the respondents said that those staffers would be cut. And 30% of the responders said on-site third-party service provider staffers would also be cut for application-related development or maintenance work. Twelve percent of the managers said they would cut employees from offshore third-party service providers.
Consultants, hardware targets of spending cuts
The second survey by Goldman Sachs looked at 2009 spending plans based on type of IT projects. This survey also showed cuts are in the offing.
"ROI is the name of the game. CIOs have emphasized to us that they are buying on a need vs. want basis, are often downsizing deals to fit with current budget constraints, and are searching for solutions with a high and fast ROI," the survey authors wrote.
The spending survey indicated CIOs see the "greatest potential for cost reduction in IT in the area of networking equipment." A full 47% of the respondents said the most likely area where spending would be slowed would be on purchases of personal computer systems, servers and storage.
Spending cuts won't be limited to equipment: 42% of the CIOs indicated that "they are reluctant to spend money on third-party professional services." This is in keeping with the decline in interest for discretionary IT projects and could indicate more of a reliance on in-house IT employees.
Cloud computing may get buzz, but it won't get spend
The CIOs indicated that server virtualization and server consolidation are their No. 1 and No. 2 priorities. Following these two are cost-cutting, application integration, and data center consolidation. At the bottom of the list of IT priorities are grid computing, open-source software, content management and cloud computing (called on-demand/utility computing in the survey) -- less than 2% of the respondents said cloud computing was a priority.
Charles King, an analyst at Pund-IT Inc., said that such hot-button technologies as cloud computing deployments may slow down. "The message here is CIOs are looking primarily to tested, well-understood technologies that can result in savings or increased business efficiencies whose support can be argued from a financial point of view," he said.
One reason for the low priorities of grid computing, open-source software and cloud computing may be that CIOs and business executives don't understand their value. "They require a technical understanding to get to their importance. I don't think C-level executives and managers have that understanding," King said. Source
It probably won’t happen, says DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH, and even if it does, we may not know until 2009.The prospect of a 2008 recession is the talk of Washington. Alan Greenspan recently estimated the likelihood at 50 percent. Hundreds of financial experts and economists have weighed in with opinions ranging from “certain recession” to “definitely no recession.” Whose prediction is right?
The old saying goes that economic forecasters were invented to make meteorologists look accurate. When the weather reporter predicts rain, one can look outside to see if the forecast is correct. But when an economist predicts a recession, the only verification is the opinion of other economists.
The federal government is our official source of information about unemployment, inflation, and thousands of other economic indicators. The informal definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. However, it is common practice to leave the determination of a recession to a committee of economists at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a private organization of academic economists.
Unlike rain, no one can be sure when a recession has begun, or when it has ended. The NBER designates the beginning of a recession months after it has started and designates its ending months (or sometimes years) after it has ended. It measures business cycles on a monthly basis and classifies the period between the peak and trough of a cycle as a “recession.” The NBER has reviewed historical and current economic data to designate 33 American economic recessions since 1854; the most recent one lasted from March 2001 through November 2001. But it wasn’t until November 2001 that the NBER pinpointed March 2001 as the beginning of the recession; and it wasn’t until July 2003 that it determined precisely when the recession had ended.
Whether or not there is a 'recession' in 2008 will depend both on actual economic activity and on the subjective judgments of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
One might infer that the U.S. economy was expanding consistently before March 2001 and then contracting consistently until November 2001. But economic data from the federal government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis reveal a much different picture. The economy contracted in the third quarter of 2000, the first quarter of 2001, and again in the third quarter of 2001. But it expanded in the fourth quarter of 2000 and the second quarter of 2001. In other words, there was choppy economic performance throughout both years. If one defines a recession as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, then no recession occurred.
So will there be a recession in 2008? The NBER usually waits several months before designating a recession. So if a recession were to begin in January 2008, the NBER might not announce it until the summer or fall. If a recession began next summer, it might not be identified as such until early 2009.
Some experts believe that a credit shortage will tip the economy into negative growth. The credit crunch has indeed caused havoc in the financial and real estate sectors, and the Federal Reserve reacted last week by lowering interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. Columbia Business School economist Charles Calomiris, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, believes that the Fed’s actions thus far have been appropriate, but that further loosening of the money supply may not be necessary. Calomiris sees the housing finance shock as small relative to the total economy. Although subprime mortgage losses will probably range from $300 billion to $400 billion, housing prices are not collapsing.
The most precise measure of change—the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) index comparing sales prices of the same houses over time—declined by 0.4 percent in the third quarter of 2007, the first quarterly decline in 13 years. Yet prices were still 1.8 percent higher than they were a year ago. Although Calomiris recognizes that further declines are likely, he thinks they will be concentrated in certain regions, and likely will not exceed an average decline of 5 percent nationally, as measured by the OFHEO index.
Others, such as American Enterprise Institute resident fellow Desmond Lachman, a former strategist at Smith Barney, believe that the Fed did not go far enough. Lachman sees a much larger financial crisis in the making and reckons that the ongoing housing bust runs a risk of aggravating that turmoil. Like Harvard professor Martin Feldstein, he says the Fed needs to be more aggressive in responding to the credit crunch if a serious economic slump is to be averted.
“We clearly have had a major house price and credit market bubble between 2000 and 2006 that is now in the process of deflating at a time that oil prices are at $90 a barrel,” Lachman explains. “House prices have already started to decline and could very well decline by 5-10 percent a year over the next few years, which will erode the underlying collateral of bank mortgage lending.”
The Fed may have been prudent in lowering rates on December 11th, but it was clearly unprepared for the inflation figures that were released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on December 13th and 14th. Both the producer price index (PPI) and the consumer price index (CPI) increased by far more than expected. The PPI jumped by 3.2 percent in November and by 7.2 percent over the past year. The CPI rose by 0.8 percent last month and by 4.3 percent over the past year. These numbers may stoke inflation fears and dissuade the Fed from pursuing more rate cuts.
Other economic remedies, such as tax relief, are available to stimulate the economy and prevent a recession. Lawmakers could make the Bush tax cuts permanent, or they could even pass new tax cuts, as several Republican presidential candidates have proposed. The prospect of higher taxes after 2010, when the Bush tax cuts expire, has had a dampening effect on current investment.
On balance, it is not likely that the United States will experience a recession in 2008. Most economic forecasters expect growth to continue in the 2.5 percent range. Employment and personal income have remained strong through October and November of 2007, so consumption spending should continue, buoying the economy. The weak U.S. dollar makes American exports more competitive, thereby fueling economic growth and employment. Even if the economy dips in 2008, its slowdown may not last the requisite “several months” to be designated a recession by the NBER.
In other words, whether or not there is a “recession” in 2008 will depend both on actual economic activity and on the subjective judgments of the NBER. Neither is easy to predict, and an inaccurate forecast today will not be proved false for 12 months or more, by which point it will have been long forgotten.
Diana Furchtgott-Roth is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former chief economist at the U.S. Department of LaborSOURCE
Job Overview
Company: PRIDESTAFF FINANCIALBase Pay: $80,000 - $130,000 /Year
Employee Type: Full-Time Employee
Industry: Accounting - FinanceConsulting
Manages Others: Yes
Job Type: AccountingConsultantFinance
Required Education: Not Specified
Required Experience: At least 5 year(s)
Required Travel: Up to 25%
Relocation Covered: Not Specified
Reference ID: PSFTAX
Location: US-CA-La JollaContact: Amy Kizer
Phone: 858-453-7823
Email: Send Email Now
Fax: 858-453-7826
Instantly fax your resume online!Company OverviewPRIDESTAFF FINANCIAL is a staffing firm specializing in Accounting, Financial and Bookkeeping positions. We assist our clients and candidates by providing temporary, temporary-to-hire and direct hire placement services. Our unique combination of staffing expertise and accounting knowledge allows us to consistently provide client and candidate experiences focused on what they value most.Learn More about PRIDESTAFF FINANCIALVisit our WebsiteJob Description Client company is looking for direct hire Tax Accountant - national CPA firm that offers a lot. If you are tired of the Big 4 structure and want more balance in your life, this should be a strong consideration. The reality is there isn't often work/life balance in public accounting, but my client does it's best to get you there. With all the perks of most firms, they add short off-peak work weeks, special games and community events, mentor program, and there is real growth potential!
~ Partnership, corporation and individual tax returns
~ FAS 109, FIN 48, multi-state and even international exposure
~ Client service including, planning, compliance and recommendationsJob Requirements Qualified candidates will:
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~ Be able to prioritize within multiple projectsAPPLY NOWSOURCE
Company: Adecco TechnicalJob Category: Information TechnologyAdmin - ClericalReference Code: 121264
Location: US-OH-DublinJob Status: Full-Time EmployeeAdecco Engineering & Technical is the leading provider of contract personnel and related staffing services. As a division of Adecco, Adecco Engineering & Technical has more than 135 offices in the U.S. alone. With over 50 years of experience in customized staffing & recruiting solutions, we’ve got the resources, experience, and the technology to deliver the right people. Adecco Engineering & Technical is currently recruiting a Database Analyst/Administrator for a client in Dublin,OH.
Duration: Contract Salary / Payrate: Tbd
Job Description: -Responsible for maintaining physical databases on specific database technologies in the production environment; implementing production database changes.
-Identifies database issues following implementation (e.g. tuning, back-up, recovery, security) and implements solutions for high-risk applications.
-Provides proactive monitoring and independent follow-up on issues for high-risk applications
-Participates in creation of new support processes/procedures.
Required Skills: -Uses functional expertise, influence and process skills to help internal/external customers and stakeholders identify and meet their high priority needs
-Generates practical, sustainable and creative options to solve problems and create business opportunities, while maximizing existing resources.
-Performs assessments and listens to internal/external customers to understand and anticipate their needs and determine their priorities in the context of the overall enterprise
-Possess expertise in installation, configuration and support, upgrade or Oracle Databases
-Knowledge on OEM, TOAD, Oracle grid-control. Instance Cloning (RAC, Non-RAC), Code migration processes* Database Administration skills in multiple platforms (Oracle, SQL server, DB2) is desirable with strong emphasis on troubleshooting, performance monitoring and tuning
-Bachelors Degree required with at least 3 years experience.For immediate consideration, please forward resumes with salary requirement to: [Click Here to Email Your Resumé]NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. Due to large volume of applications we may not be able to respond immediately to all inquiries. Thank you in advance for your patience. Resumes should be in traditional format, meaning that for each job listed, include company name, city/state, dates worked there, job title, and job responsibility. Adecco Engineering & Technical is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Adecco has been at the forefront of this dynamic industry, having placed in-demand job seekers with leading organizations for decades. Whether you’re new to the workforce, or have years of experience, your talents are highly valued and Adecco wants to be connected with you! www.adeccousa.com.
Apply nowSOURCE
Unfortunately, not many people are a stranger to the downward spiraling economy that began in December 2007 and continued to deplete throughout 2008.
In fact, November 2008 marked some of worst numbers in decades in terms of job loss: The unemployment rate, for example, hit a 14-year high this November at a rate of 6.7 percent. That month also counted 1.9 million jobs lost throughout 2008 alone; two-thirds of those losses occurred in the last three months. The number of unemployed people increased from 10.1 million in October to 10.3 million in November, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Since 2007, the number of unemployed people has increased by 3.1 million, and the unemployment rate has gone up by 2 percent. For the 10.3 million currently unemployed people, however, there is hope for some reprieve in 2009.
The labor force is expected to increase by 12.8 million workers over the 2006 -2016 period, according to the BLS. Total employment is expected to increase by 10 percent to 166.2 million over that period as well, while an estimated 15.6 million jobs will be added by 2016. While that year seems like a long way off today, a certain number of new jobs will be added each year leading up to 2016 -- including in 2009.
It should be noted, however, that the jobs that will be added won't be evenly distributed across industries and occupational groups. It goes without saying that changes in consumer demand, technology and the like will continue to affect the economic structure.
Industries that have seen growth since 2007 (according to the most recent data from the BLS) include management, business and financial operations; professional and related occupations; service occupations; sales and office occupations; and installation, maintenance and repair occupations.
Looking for a job in 2009? Here are 25 of the best jobs to look for in the New Year, defined as jobs that saw growth in the second half of 2008.*Industry: Management, business and financial operations occupations
Total employment: 22,425,000**
Best jobs:1. Public relations manager: $72,452/year***2. Purchasing agent: $49,401/year
3. Claims adjuster, appraiser, examiner and investigator: $58,219/year
4. Human resources, training and labor relations specialist: $63,577/year
5. Budget analyst: $56,924/year
Industry: Professional and related occupations
Total employment: 30,370,000
Best jobs:
6. Computer programmer: $59,628/year
7. Electrical and electronics engineer: $70,706/year
8. Writer and editor: $42,405/year and $47,386/year, respectively
9. Pharmacist: $88,009/year
10. Audiologist: $57,779/year
Industry: Service occupations
Total employment: 25,114,000
Best jobs:
11. Private detective and investigator: $38,656/year and $34,810/year, respectively
12. Chef and head cook: $44,047/year and $40,794/year, respectively
13. Tour and travel guide: $22,917/year
14. Recreation and fitness worker: $15,101/year and $22,440/year, respectively
15. Grounds maintenance worker: $22,407/year
Industry: Sales and office occupations
Total employment: 35,180,000
Best jobs:
16. Cashier: $22,931/year
17. Telephone operator: $25,165/year
18. Hotel, motel and resort desk clerk: $19,926/year
19. Cargo and freight agent: $30,143/year and $54,804/year, respectively
20. Statistical assistant: $30,921/year
Industry: Installation, maintenance and repair occupations
Total employment: 5,165,000
Best jobs:
21. Computer, automated teller and office machine repairer: $41,614/year, $34,509/year and $36,077/year, respectively
22. Electric motor, power tool and related repairer: $29,865/year
23. Security and fire alarm systems installer: $35,648/year
24. Telecommunication line installers and repairers: $45,458/year
25. Locksmiths and safe repairer: $32,111/year
*Data reflects figures based on the second- and third-quarter employment numbers according to the Current Population Survey released by the BLS.
**Third-quarter employment numbers.
***Salary figures according to CBSalary.comSOURCE
Job ID : JO-WI.Java38
Company Name : CyberCoders
Job Category : Technology; Technology
Location : Neenah, WI • Green Bay, WI
Position Type : Full-Time, Employee
Salary : $45,000 to $65,000 per year
Experience : 5-10 Years Experience
Desired Education Level : Bachelor of Science
Date Posted : December 26, 2008Skills RequiredJava, C++, Software Developer, Software Engineer, Programmer, XML, Python, SOAP, Web services, C/C++ Job DescriptionJava - Software Developer - Software Engineer - C++ - Python - SOAP If you are a Java Software Engineer with 2+ years of experience and live in or near Neenah, please read on...Growing technology company in the Neenah/ Appleton area seeks local Software Developer with strong Java and/or C++ skills.What you need:* 2+ years experience in Java or C++* Experience with Python a plus* Experience with Unix / Linux environments* Experience with databases, XML, SOAP, and other web-servicesWhat's in it for you?* Profit sharing* 401K* Full medical benefits* Flex-time* Annual performance bonuses * Rapidly growing company with huge opportunity for advancementWhat you'll be doing - You will:* Work as part of a team to create new applications and to improve existing applications* Develop integration between internal systems and third-party applications using a variety of methods such as database connectivity, flat files or web-services including XML, SOAP* Create working applications using Java and C++ * Develop a software test plan that includes documentation of QC / QA procedures* Define, analyze and document requirements for data, work-flow, logical processes and hardware systemsSo if you are a Software Engineer with 2+ years of experience with Java and you are local to the Neenah area, please apply now!Must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employer.
Are you a fit for this position?
Please Click Here to Apply!Source
Job ID : USCCHM313397-93
Company Name : U.S. Cellular
Job Category : Technology; Retail
Location : Knoxville, TN
Position Type : Full-Time, Employee
Experience : 2-5 Years Experience
Date Posted : December 24, 2008 (Reposted Dec 25)Your reward: A little thing called job satisfaction. And as part of our Dynamic Organization, you'll find plenty to go around. That's because we're focused on customer satisfaction - we've even won a few awards for it. Ready to join a Company like no other?
Network Security Engineer
Plan, design, engineer, develop, implement, and troubleshoot infrastructure security technologies on a rapidly-changing customer-servicing data network. Provide subject matter expertise around specific technologies. Provide project management for the deployment of customer-servicing projects. Evaluate and implement new technologies, policies, and procedures for business network operations. Perform analysis and prepare reports in support of data network monitoring, improvement, and regulatory compliance.
Responsibilities
Develop and implement strategies for securing assets, customer services delivery, and regulatory/audit compliance.
Perform 24x7 advanced tier troubleshooting, including off-hour maintenance activities, problem resolution, and on-call troubleshooting efforts during data network outages
Perform security engineering tasks such as implementing firewall changes, establishing VPNs with partner companies, AAA administration, and administration of DNS records.
Provide guidance/training to more junior staff
Engineers and implements solutions on wide variety of data network and data security elements
Manage project tasks in all geographical locations by performing all elements of network security engineering duties, including securing informational asset infrastructure, regulatory compliance and audit (Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI, and others), security of customer-facing services, security elements of cross-functional multi-departmental company initiatives and projects, as well as securing all Internet, Extranet, and Virtual Private Network connections
Actively and constructively foster a team working environment.
Qualifications
· Bachelors degree (Masters preferred) in related technical / business area or equivalent work experience
· Minimum 5 years relevant work experience
Minimum 2 years in information security and/or network engineering
· Certification in data network engineering and/or security preferred (CISSP, CCNA)
· Experience supporting mission-critical infrastructure in a fast-paced environment
· Demonstrated experience in and knowledge of complementary technical fields (i.e.: data network engineering, operating systems, etc.)
· Demonstrated experience in troubleshooting methodologies
· Excellent problem solving / analytical skills and knowledge of analytical tools
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills.To Apply click hereSource
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