SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 14 (UPI) -- Increased customer spending has companies staffing again as the long slump in U.S. technology hiring appears to be about over, it was reported Friday.
Tech hiring has a long way to go and growth is uneven, USA Today says, but the signs are encouraging. Tech job gains are key to overall economic growth because so many jobs were lost, more than 900,000 since spending dived in 2001. The sector also is a source of high-paying work.
Hewlett-Packard says in a survey out Friday that 44 percent of small and midsize firms will spend up to 10 percent more on technology this year than last year.
With customers buying hardware, software and consulting services again, manufacturing employment, one of the industry's hardest-hit areas, rose last month for the fourth month in a row. That's the longest growth spurt in more than three years.
Job losses have "definitely bottomed" and hiring is coming back, says Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo.
