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 Check out Eagle’s Job Centre for the best in IT job opportunities and The Eagle Blog for our CEO’s views on the industry, business, and life! |
In this issue: 4 Industry News 4 IT Job Market Across Canada – Mini Update 4 Three Steps to Master Facebook’s New Privacy Controls 4 7 Awesome Ways to Transform your Web Site Without Spending a Dime 4 Inexpensive Ways Technology Can Keep Your Home Life Happy 4 Technology to Get You in Shape at Home or On the Road 4 How Cybercrooks Could Cash in on your Facebook Data 4 Set Up Your Own Virtual Private Network Without Breaking the Bank 4 Internet “Judgment Day” is Looming. Are You Ready? 4 Eagle’s Job Centre 4 Eagle’s Referral Program 4 Contact Us |
In June of 2008 the economy was rocked by high oil prices, the fallout from the sub-debt crisis and signs of inflation. The big deal saw the Carlyle Group buy the US Government business of Booz Allen Hamilton for $2.54 billion. Other than that deal there was plenty of M&A activity, Nokia paid $410 million to complete its ownership of Symbian; NEC bought Nutcracker for $300 million; Cogeco bought Toronto Hydro Telecom for $200 million; Progress paid $162 million for Iona; Barracuda Networks offered $186 million for Sourcefire and Belden paid $133 million for Trapeze Networks.
Last year in June 2009 there was optimism that the economy was beginning to recover. The general consensus supported a long, slow recovery (and they were right) and so the layoffs, salary reductions and slow spending continued. A Robert Half survey in the US suggested there would be more CIOs hiring, than cutting, in the next year, and Gartner told us that sales of business intelligence software grew 22% in 2008 so there were some bright lights. Intel paid $884 million for Wind River Systems and Nokia Siemens took advantage of the fire-sale at Nortel, picking up their CDMA and LTE assets for $650 million.
Which bring us up to date and June 2010 and the continuation of the long, hard, slow road to recovery. June saw the G8 and G20 groups of countries gather in and around Toronto, amidst disgusting scenes of destruction and some consensus on financial policy moving forward. Canada continues to be held up as a good example in this recovery, but it still “feels” tough out there!
The Canadian Staffing Index dipped down again, but overall we are about 10% better than this time last year and consumer prices are up about 1.4% over a year ago. In the US, economic growth is slowing and consumer confidence is down a little but employment seems to be on the rise. Looking across the Atlantic, Europe is seeing an uptick in employment and the UK, in particular, is forecasting improved growth in 2010. All in all, slow, steady, two steps forward and one step back as we recover.
Both HP and Oracle are still struggling to swallow their big acquisitions (EDS and SUN) resulting in some layoffs. It was also interesting to see an Alberta staffing company charged for collecting fees from foreign workers. (It would be nice if McGuinty’s Ontario government could get that concept. Punish the companies deemed to break the law, not a whole industry.)
On the M&A front, a Canadian data centre company, Fusepoint, was snapped up by Savvis for $135 million. Web analytics companies were popular, with Twitter buying SmallThought Systems and IBM buying Coremetrics. The biggest deal of the month was in the Health Systems world with Allscripts paying $1.3 billion for Eclipsys. Neither exactly household names, but big bucks changing hands. There were a few other smaller or “undisclosed amount” deals, with HP buying technology from Phoenix, HTC buying Abaxia and Checkpoint buying Liquid Machines. Certainly not a busy month in mergers and acquisitions.
That’s the news in June 2010, summer holidays approach and it remains to be seen whether the pace of recovery picks up or whether it will be into the fall before the momentum changes.
IT JOB MARKET ACROSS CANADA – MINI UPDATE
General Observations:
June saw Canada add 93,000 jobs bringing the total added since July 2009 to 403,000. That basically means we have replaced almost all of the jobs lost through the recession. The unemployment rate also dropped below 8% for the first time since January 2009. Of course the “big picture” can also hide some realities. Before the recession the unemployment rate was closer to 6%, so today there are more people unemployed than back then. Possibly because of seasonally adjusted rates. Also, the job boom for June was almost exclusively in Ontario and Quebec, while the Eastern provinces actually lost jobs.
There continues to be volatility in the markets, and for the second month in a row the TSX dropped little, however that reading is a point in time which could well have righted by the time you read this. Interest rates were hiked again, the second time in two months, making the Prime Rate now 2.75%. It appears the Feds didn’t want McGuinty getting all the tax dollars (with his HST implemented effective July 1st). Canada’s Staffing Index saw a big jump of 7 points in June, which is indicative of increased demand for labor heading into the summer months, obviously a trend we would like to see continue!
More Specifically:
The “buzz” in the staffing industry continues to highlight the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) as the engine of growth and the most active market across Canada. Month over month there is little changed, just a little more pressure as the best candidates get snapped up and demand continues to increase. The incidence of “multiple offers” and “turndowns” by qualified candidates is on the rise, indicative of a market that is definitely getting hot. The two hottest sectors continue to be the financial sector and the telecommunications industries, but we are also seeing a lot of activity with the large system integrators. That is a very good indicator because large clients are now engaging the integrators for major projects again. Another sign of some confidence and a need to “get things done”. The Ontario provincial government continues to slowly increase its demand, as it catches up on some pent up demand. There is a healthy demand for both full-time and contract resources within all of those areas.
The mood across our Western Canada markets continues to improve, and other than market-specific activities getting in the way of business (Stampede Week), we are hopeful that things are improving across the board. Calgary has been, and continues to be the hottest western market and June was very busy there. Edmonton also had a busy month as the provincial government ramps up prior to the summer holidays impacting. Vancouver may be getting past its “post-olympics hangover” as demand also seemed to pick up in June. Overall it was a busy month for all of Eagle’s western offices which also saw their share of “multiple offer” scenarios.
In Eagle’s Eastern Canada region Montreal has continued to be fairly strong market and here too we are seeing a shortage of the most in demand candidates. Like the GTA, it is the financial sector, telcos and system integrators that have the biggest demand. In the National Capital Region there has been a fairly steady demand over the month and some large RFP activity as departments position themselves for future demand.
The following are some facts/indicators we are watching as of time of writing:
- The price of oil is a little over $77 a barrel, basically unchanged from last month. Our experience with the activity in Calgary would suggest the oil sector is picking up! Perhaps as a result of stable oil prices, despite the BP woes in the Gulf.
- Natural Gas prices have been trending down, probably due to summer usage and increased stocks, nothing crazy here.
- The markets continue to be pretty volatile, with the TSX down a little from last month at 11,586 today but that’s still a pretty healthy level.
- The Canadian dollar has fallen a little from last month, currently sitting at 95.49c US.
- Prime was raised to 2.75% in July, the second hike in two months so borrowing continues keeps getting more expensive!
- Canada added 93,000 jobs in June which effectively replaces all jobs lost during the recession (403,000 added since July 2009). The unemployment rate dropped below 8% to 7.9%, for the first time since January 2009.
- Eagle continues to see a pickup in activity in most sectors. Banks, energy companies, and telcos in particular. There is also some pickup in Municipal and Provincial Government activity.
- The Canadian government, while not expected to drastically reduce its spending this year has not really “wowed” the market with its spending. There has not been a lot of new IT business and the National Capital companies are suffering a little for that.
- Canada’s Staffing Index increased significantly this month by 7 points. This puts the index at 86, which is just 14% off the pre-recession baseline set in July 2008.
In Summary:
Increased interest rates and the introduction of HST will dampen the recovery a little, and there does seem to be a concern that this recovery is still not “a given”. Having said that, we have seen a steady increase in demand over the last several months, and the Canadian Staffing Index continues to demonstrate a positive (but generally cautious) trend.
Canada’s employment figures are promising and if we can keep things heading this way all will be well. Canada is, however, impacted by global events and that is the wild card. If the world’s economies cannot sustain their recovery, then we will be caught in that. For now, we are optimistic, everything we are seeing in our world indicates that the job situation is good and getting even better. Keep your fingers crossed!
PS. Last month I referenced the World Cup and getting the right result! Born in England I had hopes that were smashed. but I can’t argue with the eventual winner, Spain were awesome!
Three Steps to Master Facebook’s New Privacy Controls
Facebook has changed its privacy settings, with a promise that it will be much easier for users to manage. Here’s what you need to know. More…
7 Awesome Ways to Transform Your Web Site Without Spending a Dime
“There are no free lunches,” the old saw goes. Maybe so. But there are plenty of free apps online that publishers can use to give their Web site an extreme makeover — improving aesthetics, content, traffic, and much more. More…
Inexpensive Ways Technology Can Keep Your Home Life Happy
But before you lay out cash on some overpriced equipment, take a look at what your existing tech (and other supplies) can do for you. Here are a few household hacks to help you organize your life. More…
Technology to Get You in Shape at Home or On the Road
We consulted sports professionals, fitness enthusiasts, and tech companies to find the latest and most interesting hardware, software, and Web sites that you can use to get in shape and stay the course. More…
How Cybercrooks Could Cash in on Your Facebook Data
Read on to see who’s getting a look at what you do on Facebook. You’re sharing more than you think, and might be surprised at what your data is worth. More…
Set Up Your Own Virtual Private Network Without Breaking the Bank
Don’t have a company VPN? No worries. You can still secure your wireless traffic by setting up your own VPN and gaining a private, encrypted Internet connection free from eavesdroppers. More…
Internet “Judgment Day” is Looming. Are You Ready?
In about 17 months the internet will run out of available IP addresses … so we will move from ipv4 to ipv6. Its not all smooth sailing, so you might want to read about it. More…
For a listing of Eagle’s latest job postings, please visit Eagle’s Job Centre. In addition to searching for the latest jobs, Eagle’s Job Centre gives you the ability to create your profile, update your profile, update your resume and search all jobs.
Eagle is always looking to meet new contractors who have the skills that match our clients’ needs. If we place your qualified referral on contract, we will happily say thank you to the tune of $500.
For more information, please refer to our website or contact the National Eagle Staffing Solutions Team (NESST) at 1-866-78NESST (63778) or via email at NESST@eagleonline.com.
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