2007-03-0320-001.

txt 3/20/2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

HotGigs 2007 IT Contract Workforce Report Reveals Top 20 IT Talent Areas

ERP, Web, Project Management Skills in High Demand Across North America
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Mar. 20, 2007 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Demand for
contract workers with information technology skills is on the rise in the U.S.
and Canada, with enterprise resource planning (ERP), Web development and
project management skills leading the way, according to the HotGigs 2007 IT
Contract Workforce Report, released today and available at
(www.hotgigs.com/2007cwr). The report is a key measure of IT skills in highest
demand in North America.
*(LOGO: Send2Press.com/mediaroom/07-0320-HotGigs_72dpi.jpg)

HotGigs Inc., an innovator in web-based staffing solutions, based its report

on nearly 2 million searches for IT contract resources conducted on the
HotGigs Staffing Exchange (www.hotgigs.com) during the fourth quarter of 2006.
The report reveals employer demand for 20 key IT contract skills areas in top
IT labor markets such as Austin, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit,
Minneapolis-St. Paul, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, San
Francisco and Tampa.
More than 10 percent of all searches focused on contractors' skills in ERP and
packaged software systems. "This isn't surprising since most companies are
making a strong push to implement and enhance the ERP systems that continue to
run the lion's share of corporate business infrastructures," said HotGigs CEO
and founder Doug Berg. SAP led the category, followed by searches for Oracle
and Peoplesoft expertise. Contractors with solid experience in these skills
currently charge bill rates in the mid-$100 per hour range, according to data
from HotGigs Rate Exchange (http://rates.hotgigs.com).
Web development (193,270 searches) was the second highest demand area. "We
believe the push to 'Web 2.0' is responsible for the growing demand," said
Berg. "There was a high backlog of projects sidelined by infrastructure and
budget concerns that are now moving into development phase." ASP.Net,
Javascript, HTML and PHP skills showed the highest demand, with strong growth
also for AJAX developers.
Demand for project management skills (177,818 searches) closely followed, with
companies seeking project managers experienced at leading large- and medium-
sized teams.
Other high-demand IT skills areas included data development, analysis and
design, client server development, networking, IT management, systems
administration, data administration, quality assurance and testing, PC and
desktop development, help desk and support, architecture, certifications,
mainframe development, telecommunications, industries and applications,
security and midrange developers.
"The market for IT consultants at the end of Q4 2006 showed some momentum
going into 2007, and preliminary analysis of Q1 2007 numbers shows a strong up
tick in demand," said Berg. "Bottom line: IT skills continue to be an
extremely strong area for consulting."

Highest Contract Talent Demand Areas

Rank Category Searches
1. ERP and packaged software 236,389
2. Developers - web 193,270
3. Project management 177,818
4. Data development 158,745
5. Analysis and design 116,733
6. Developers - client server 108,288
7. Networking 104,448

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8. IT management 103,368
9. Hardware/OS/Sys Admin 92,175
10. Data administration 86,282
11. QA and testing 84,254
12. Developers - PC and desktop 83,137
13. Help desk and support 59,234
14. Architecture 58,597
15. Certifications 55,501
16. Developers - mainframe 47,973
17. Telecommunication 45,903
18. Industries and apps 38,236
19. Security 31,786
20. Developers - mid-range 26,184
21. API's - standards and methods 22,040
22. Technical writing 20,969
23. Support 14,768
24. Tech trainers 13,843
25. Auditing 12,645
26. Development tools 12,502
27. Groupware 8,235
28. Product management 7,375
29. Developers - wireless 6,983
30. Web analytics 1,977

Source: The above statistics represent skills searches performed on

HotGigs.com staffing exchange from October 1 to December 31, 2006.

About the HotGigs 2007 IT Contract Workforce Report

The report is a snapshot of demand for IT talent in the United States and
Canada based on nearly 2 million searches for specific skills conducted on
HotGigs.com during the fourth quarter of 2006.

About HotGigs Inc.

HotGigs Inc. delivers web-based staffing solutions that help companies manage
their staffing supply chain. The HotGigs Staffing Exchange (www.hotgigs.com)
is the largest staffing network that helps companies fill contract and full-
time (fee paid) positions from its growing network of 13,000+ staffing firms
and 56,000+ independent consultants.

HotGigs ContractCentral solution (www.contract-central.com) helps companies

manage their entire contract workforce through a centralized portal that
automates sourcing and management of contract resources from their private
network of preferred staffing vendors. Its Jobs2Web product (www.jobs2web.com)
helps companies drive top candidates directly to their corporate career sites
from major search engines and free job posting sites, allowing them to build
their own private candidate communities.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, the company was founded in 2003.

HotGigs, HotGigs Inc., the HotGigs logo, ContractCentral and Jobs2Web are
trademarks or registered trademarks of HotGigs Inc.

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Report data is Copyright (c) 2006 HotGigs Inc. All rights reserved.

Send2Press(R) is the originating wire service for this story -

www.Send2Press.com
NEWS SOURCE: HotGigs Inc.

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# # #
/END/

MEDIA CONTACT(S):
[ not for publication online or in print ]

David Southgate
HotGigs Inc.
david @ hotgigs.com
+1-952-697-2951
+1-787-557-6542

/Note to editors: Members of the media can access the HotGigs 2007 IT Contract
Workforce Report by request.

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Story Permalink: http://www.Send2Press.com/mediadrome/2007-03-0320-001.txt
March 2007 // Press Release / B-NAB