Hourly wages for highly skilled technology professionals rose at varying levels during the fourth quarter of 2006, but they showed significant improvement by the end of the year when compared to the same period in 2005.
by Site Staff
February 2, 2007
Philadelphia — Feb. 2
Hourly wages for highly skilled technology professionals rose at varying levels during the fourth quarter of 2006, but they showed significant improvement by the end of the year when compared to the same period in 2005.
According to the latest Yoh Index of Technology Wages, the quarterly compensation index used by Fortune 500 companies to determine salary scales, technology wages experienced a 1.2 percent increase by mid-quarter, and they ended in December with a 3.1 percent increase when compared to the same months in 2005.
“At the close of 2006, we continued to see steady year-over-year growth,” said Jim Lanzalotto, Yoh vice president of strategy and marketing. “When combined with today's solid economic growth, we remain positive about the technology job market in 2007 and expect to continue to see consistent increases in tech wages.”
The Yoh Index of Technology Wages ended the fourth quarter of 2006 at 109.40, when indexed to January 2001 (1/2001 = 100), indicating an overall 3.1 percent increase in wage growth since the end of 2005, as well as year-over-year growth of nearly 15 percent since 2002.
Compiled quarterly by Yoh, one of the world's largest recruiting services firms for high-impact technology and professional talent, the Yoh Index of Technology Wages is used by emerging technology and Fortune 500 firms as a guide for determining their quarterly salary scales.
Each Yoh Index of Technology Wages report identifies the top job titles in highest demand, and provides an index to compare current average wages over the same period last year.
The high-impact jobs in greatest demand nationwide during the fourth quarter of 2006, and their average hourly pay rates as determined by the Yoh Index of Technology Wages, are:
- Analytical Chemist: $35.58
- Clinical Research Associate: $46.54
- Drug Safety Manager: $54.42
- Electrical Engineer: $46.37
- ERP Functional Consultant: $80.76
- ERP Technical Consultant: $84.36
- Firmware Engineer: $58.82
- Java Developer: $47.07
- .NET Developer: $50.58
- Project Manager: $58.51
The Yoh Index of Technology Wages provides a unique barometer of the changes in employer demand and supply of technology talent nationwide.
It is not based on polls, surveys, projections, or other anecdotal evidence. The Yoh Index of Technology Wages is built on solid data compiled by Yoh's 75 U.S. field offices.
It uses actual employment activity of as many as 5,000 technology professionals outsourced on short- and long-term projects by more than 1,000 of the nation's top employers in the aviation, engineering, information technology, manufacturing, scientific, telecommunications and utility industries.