The tech sector in Washington accounts for 22% of the state economy and ranks first…
Weekly News Roundup
Amgen’s Departure: Where Will all Those Scientists Go?
Puget Sound Business Journal | Annie Zak | Oct. 27
When Amgen, the biggest biotech company in the Puget Sound, shutters its Seattle and Bothell facilities by the end of 2015, nearly 300 people will be out of work. While the region is definitely a hub for biotech companies, that’s a big influx of scientists and researchers to the job market. It begs the question: Where will they all go?
Tech Leads Employment Recovery
The Wall Street Journal | Keiko Morris| Oct. 28
http://online.wsj.com/articles/tech-leads-new-york-citys-recovering-jobs-market-1414544857
The technology sector has helped power a steady recovery in the job market since the Great Recession, a surge capped in September when the New York City unemployment rate recorded its largest percentage-point drop for a two-month period. City employment also notched a high in September of slightly more than 4 million jobs, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the state Department of Labor. That is 7% more than the previous high of 3.8 million in August 2008, the month before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed. To be sure, much of the job growth has come from lower-wage jobs in industries such as food services, retail and health care. But the increase in technology-related positions has helped offset losses in other high-paying areas such as the financial services, economists said. Google Inc.’s New York City presence has more than doubled since 2009, with more than 4,000 employees, about half of whom are software engineers, the company said.
Seattle Real Estate Expected to Be Hot in 2015
The Seattle Times | Jon Talton | Oct. 28
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/jontalton/2014/10/28/seattle-real-estate-expected-to-be-hot-in-2015
Once again, Seattle ranks among the top 10 markets in the influential Emerging Trends in Real Estate by the Urban Land Institute and the consultancy PwC. For 2015, it ranks No. 8 overall based on the tech industry, highly skilled workforce and attractiveness to millennials. “Seattle is one of the top capital destinations outside the major core markets,” the report said, “and as such is attractive to institutional and local investors alike.” The showing continues a remarkable, multi-year run.
Revealed: the Location of Alibaba’s New Recruiting Office in Seattle
Puget Sound Business Journal | Mark Stiles | Oct. 29
The team that will start Alibaba’s Seattle office will have access to some sizzling steaks and perhaps a climbing wall. That’s because Amazon.com’s big new threat is moving into the Decatur Building at 1511 Sixth Ave., about two blocks south of Amazon’s future high-rise campus that will total 4.1 million square feet. An Alibaba sign is taped to the front door of the Decatur, a historic, four-story building where the Morton’s steakhouse operates on the first floor. This is the Chinese e-commerce giant’s second U.S. office after a space opened recently in Silicon Valley. Alibaba has been recruiting engineers in Seattle, but the location of the office was not revealed.
Microsoft Cuts Another 3,000 Employees as Part of its Layoff of 18,000
ZD Net | Mary Jo Foley | Oct. 29
On October 29, Microsoft officials notified another wave of employees that they are losing their jobs. The cuts of approximately 3,000 employees today are believed to be largely support staff in human resources, finance, sales and marketing and IT. They are part of the 18,000 employees Microsoft officials said back in July that they’d be laying off over the course of a year. In July, Microsoft announced the planned cuts of 18,000, with 12,500 of those cuts coming from employees Microsoft acquired as part of its acquisition of Nokia’s handset and services business. The second round of those cuts, totaling about 2,100 employees, hit in September. A final wave of cuts is expected in early 2015, sources said. Given Microsoft has already cut about 18,000 employees, that round should be fairly small.
Seattle is No. 8 in U.S. for Job Growth, Washington State is Ninth
Puget Sound Business Journal | Ben Miller | Oct. 29
Seattle is the eighth-fastest growing city in the country when it comes to adding jobs, adding 2.6 percent more jobs since the beginning of the year. Seattle tied with San Francisco in major markets (more than 1 million jobs in the metro area) for job growth percentage for the first three quarters of 2014, according to a new study by the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Washington state is No. 9 for job growth in the first nine months of 2014, tying with California, growing at 2.2 percent.
Code Debugs the Gender Gap in Tech
Forbes | Esha Chhabra | Oct. 30
http://www.forbes.com/sites/eshachhabra/2014/10/30/code-debugs-the-gender-gap-in-tech/
The White House recently appointed Megan Smith of Google as Chief Technology Officer. So, it’s hard to make a case that women are not represented in technology, jokes Jocelyn Goldfein, former director of Engineering at Facebook. Yet, there is clearly a shortage of women in technology companies. This summer, Google and Facebook reported how many female (technical) employees they have on staff: 17 percent and 15 percent. Before we start blaming Silicon Valley for not hiring more women, consider this: only 18 percent of women graduate with a computer science degree in the US. If the talent pool is so slim, then how will companies be able to hire more female engineers? A new documentary, set to debut in early 2015, looks at the gender gap GPS +0.83% in Silicon Valley. Code, directed by San Francisco-based filmmaker Robin Hauser Reynolds, asks not just why fewer women are taking on computer science, but what can be done about this discrepancy?
Talent-Starved Tech Firms Should Be Training Our Returning Veterans
Forbes | Julie Samuels | Oct. 30
The unemployment rate for veterans is high. Way too high, especially for those who have served since September 11. The official number hovers around 10 percent, higher than for non-veterans. This means that nearly 250,000 Americans who have served are out of work. It is unacceptable. What’s worse, it seems likely that this number will only grow as the military cuts back the size of its active duty force and sequestration cuts further reduce the number of jobs in other branches of government or among government contractors. Traditionally, many of these jobs have been filled by veterans. As a result, more veterans return from duty with fewer employment opportunities. Meanwhile, tech companies are having a harder and harder time finding talent. This trend shows no sign of slowing down. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, by 2020, there will be 1.4 million “computer specialist” job openings in the United States. Yet, training is lagging behind these market trends. Round peg, meet round hole.
The WTIA is passionate about impacting our local tech community in three ways:
- Bridging the states widening tech talent gap by building a stronger Washington workforce through policy changes.
- Promoting Washington as a desirable ecosystem for tech businesses to attract investment capital, talent, and businesses from other regions.
- Creating and sustaining an engaged tech community that serve as advocates here in Washington and as ambassadors in other communities.
Every Friday, we’ll be sharing news with you from our community and around the nation that highlights these topics.
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