Local technology firms enjoy apparent resurgence

Andrew Edwards

Recent hiring trends suggest that technology firms in the area are

making a comeback, according to local job-placement companies.

Employment agencies have met increasing success finding jobs at

technology firms, and not just for computer experts. High-tech

companies have been looking to lower-level office staffers whose jobs

were cut around the time the technology sector started to slump,

around 2001.

“We’re seeing a surge right now,” said Kun Kuck, marketing

director for Abigail Abbott Staffing Services, a Santa Ana-based firm

that has an office in Newport Beach.

Positions in demand include receptionists and junior

administrative assistants, Kuck said. When the 2001 recession hit, people in these positions were often the first to lose their jobs,

being replaced by automated greetings.

Not surprisingly, office staffers are not the only ones benefiting

from the apparent resurgence of technology companies. An increased

demand for software designers, Web developers and network-security

experts has developed in the past six months, said Ryan Andaluz of

MacArthur Associates, a Newport Beach placement firm that specializes

in information technology jobs.

“I’ve been in this office for almost three [years], and things are

definitely much better than they were two years ago,” Andaluz said.

Statistics from the state’s Economic Development Department show

that employment went down in some, though not all, technology-based

industries in Orange County after 2001. The same set of figures

indicate hiring has rebounded.

For example, 19,800 people were employed by the Orange County

semiconductor and electronic components manufacturing industry in

2001. In 2003, that number was down to 13,300 and back up to 13,400

in December 2004.

Computer and electronic product manufacturers in Orange County put

49,500 people to work in 2001 and cut jobs down to 41,300 by 2003. At

the end of last year, 41,700 people were at work in that industry.

During the same time period, statistics show electronic-instrument

manufacturers managed to maintain job growth, while makers of

communications equipment were not able to expand their payrolls.

The market has also picked up for advertising professionals, said

Brian Gold, who owns Creative Link Staffing in Newport Beach. Gold’s

company places jobs for marketing and advertising professionals, and

about 65% of the company’s placements are at firms in Costa Mesa,

Newport Beach and Irvine.

Local companies seeking to beef up their marketing departments are

often in the technology, building and retail fields, Gold said, and

he has seen firms hire employees who initially signed on for

short-term work.

“Many times, the people who come in for a two-week temporary

assignment end up getting the jobs of their dreams,” Gold said.

Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce President Ed Fawcett said a healthy

market for office and marketing staffers indicates tech firms are

rebuilding.

Of course, not all companies with large or expanding staffs are in

the technology sector. Another important source of jobs is

healthcare.

“Healthcare jobs continue to outpace needs in virtually all

industries,” said John Hermann, president and chief executive of

Labor Relations Services, Inc., a Newport Beach company that

contracts human-resources services to other companies.

In Costa Mesa, the Fairview Developmental Center has about 1,600

employees, said Sandy Gonzales, assistant to the center’s executive

director. Though the center, which provides care to patients with

developmental disabilities, is not expanding its payroll, it has

openings for licensed psychiatric technicians, registered nurses and

respiratory-care practitioners. Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach is the

city’s largest employer, according to the Newport Beach Chamber of

Commerce. The hospital employs about 3,800 people and has been adding

to its payroll for the past five years, spokeswoman Jackie Bamberry

said. The hospital plans to hire about 200 more people this year to

staff the Sue and Bill Gross Women’s Pavilion, which is expected to

be completed by October.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards@latimes.com.