Despite a generally optimistic outlook, Challenger says there is still a chance that the United States will suffer from the economic crisis in Asia. I don't think we've hit the end of that yet. The annual fall recruiting survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows a healthy 10 percent increase in demand between spring 1997 and 1998. Hiring projections for West Coast electronics manufacturers are way down, and most regions are reporting smaller increases in demand than last year. For all levels of experience, people with skills in information technology and the health sciences are again expected to get lots of job offers.
Demand remains strong for technology workers at all levels.
The resulting net 26 percent increase in hiring is up two points from the previous quarter. Jobs developing Web sites, for example, often have more to do with making the site attractive and useful rather than heavy-duty programming. You need to know what programs companies are using. About the only weak job area he sees in high-tech is for data entry workers, who are gradually getting replaced with voice recognition technology and scanners. If so, the one thing that they all have in common is that they require education, training or technological skills.