Tech companies in NYC plan to hire tech talent in 2018

In today’s burgeoning New York City tech ecosystem, companies have ever-increasing capacity—and need—for technical talent. Some companies develop that talent internally but all need to hire.

Does New York City provide the kind of talent to satisfy this need?

Eighty percent of companies in New York City plan to hire new tech talent in 2018, with more than half planning to increase their workforce by more than 20 percent this year, according to a new survey from Accenture and Tech:NYC.

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However, the survey found that the companies are not particularly optimistic that they can find people in the city with the skills they need, with only half of respondents expressing confidence in their ability to hire within the New York innovation ecosystem.

Furthermore, half of responding companies believe they will not be able to innovate at the same pace if they can’t find the talent they need over the next 12 months, and many are already looking outside the city for such talent. Among the locations where the local tech companies are looking to import talent for their New York offices are Silicon Valley, Boston and Seattle.

Three things organizations and local government in the New York City innovation ecosystem can showcase to attract and retain tech talent in the city, include:

• NYC’s diversity: Eighty-nine percent of respondents believe that NYC’s diversity of its people is among the top three ways to attract and retain talent.
• Cultural options: Eighty percent rank NYC’s access to cultural institutions, entertainment, restaurants and sports in the top three ways to attract and retain talent.
• Diversity of industry: Seventy-four percent rank NYC’s diversity of industry in the top three ways to attract and retain talent—examples include financial services, fashion, healthcare, and retail.