In an indication that the local technology industry is beginning to recover, a recent survey from Dice.com found that technology job openings in the Phoenix metro area increased by 23.9 percent between June 2009 and June 2010. Nationwide, technology job openings increased by 50 percent during the 12-month period.

The survey further found that 71 percent of companies throughout the country and 73 percent of employers in the West plan to hire more workers during the second half of this year than they did during the first half.

"We've seen for the past few months, if not longer, employer confidence is definitely on the upswing," Tom Silver, senior vice president of North America for Dice.com. "As we talk to our customers, what we're hearing is many projects which they put on hold a year or so ago, they now realize they need to do."

This trend seems to hold true in the Phoenix area, where many technology companies are more confident about hiring this year. This is great news for local job seekers and the local economy, as tech jobs pay an average salary of about $79,000 per year.

In fact, the Dice.com survey found that technology salaries are increasing. Of the managers and recruiters who responded to the survey, 30 percent reported that salaries are higher this year for new employees, compared to only 9 percent during November 2009.

The local technology companies offering these higher salaries are looking for skilled workers to fill their open positions. If you need help marketing your experience, try using a free resume builder and looking at a resume example for the IT position you're interested in.

The company's success alone is enough to draw in some of the most intelligent and promising employees available, but Google also offers a unique company culture that further attracts and rewards the best of the best.

Google has a variety of job openings in everything from engineering to user experience. However, because many of the company's best job openings are secret, they often only provide vague descriptions or are not advertised at all.

That being said, here are the job descriptions for 10 of the coolest jobs Google is advertising to the public, as compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle:

1. Studio G Creative Lead - You'll work with other video production and operations professionals to produce engaging "Googley" video communications meant for sites like YouTube.
2. Green Business and Operations Strategy Associate - This employee will work with a team that develops strategic and growth initiatives by deconstructing and recreating businesses to meet changing needs, enable innovation and establish more efficient practices.
3. Director of Product Management, Fiber to Home - The product management team focuses on the future by working with creative engineers to design and develop technologies that improve access to information.
4. Consumer Packaged Goods or Healthcare Industry Marketing Manager - This employee and their team will work with engineering, product management and sales to inform customers about new Google products and features.
5. Video Conference Deployment Engineer - You'll work to keep Google's existing products up and running and create new solutions that allow people to work and communicate in new and innovative ways.
6. Director of Consumer Marketing, YouTube - This employee will be part of a new team responsible for marketing YouTube's products to users, partners and customers throughout the world.
7. Interaction Designer - You'll be part of the User Experience team, which is devoted to gathering user insights and using them to inspire and inform new designs and products.
8. Ethics and Compliance Counsel, Data Security and Privacy - This employee will work with the legal team to answer legal questions posed by new technologies and existing laws.
9. Software Engineer, Business Applications - As part of the engineering operations team, you'll work to keep Google's customer-facing products up and running by using unique technologies and open source tools.
10. Competition Counsel - This employee will work with the legal team on a variety of competition matters, including antitrust litigation and regulatory proceedings, and will provide internal counseling on products and business practices.

All Google employees are offered the typical insurance, retirement account and paid holidays, but they also receive such things as bike repair, massage therapy and free lunch, dinner and snacks at the company's gourmet restaurants.

Customer service jobs are available in a variety of industries, and include almost every position that's customer-facing, from bartenders and waitresses to personal trainers to retail salespersons. That being said, jobs in some occupations will be more readily available in the next few years.

Five customer service jobs that will be among the fastest-growing during the near future, as well as their average pay and employment outlook, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Arizona Workforce Informer, include:

1. Food and beverage server - This occupation includes waiters, waitresses and bartenders. Most positions are part-time and require little education. These types of jobs attract a lot of young people, with 21 percent falling between 16 and 19-years old. On the downside, you'll have to rely on tips for much of your income and spend most of the workday moving around on your feet.
   • Average salary in Arizona - $8.94 per hour for bartenders, $8.59 per hour for waiters and waitresses.
   • Employment growth in Arizona - 15.2 percent between 2006 and 2016
2. Hairstylist - This occupation includes barbers, cosmetologists and other personal appearance workers. These jobs require plenty of on-the-job training and a license from an accredited cosmetology school in most states. About 44 percent of workers are self-employed and enjoy flexible schedules.
   • Average salary in Arizona - $12.99 per hour for hairdressers, hairstylers and cosmetologists
   • Employment growth in Arizona - 23.4 percent between 2006 and 2016
3. Fitness worker - This field includes personal trainers and aerobics, pilates and yoga instructors. Most employers require these employees to have at least a bachelor's degree, while many require a master's or doctoral degree. Personal trainers must obtain the proper certification. In addition, all of these workers are often required to work long hours, nights and weekends.
   • Average salary in America - $34,299 per year
   • Employment growth in Arizona - 24.3 percent between 2006 and 2016
4. Retail salesperson - These employees work in a variety of industries to help customers find what they are looking for. Most employers will hire candidates with a high school diploma, but those with college degrees will have better advancement opportunities. Many salespersons work nights and weekends.
   • Average salary in Arizona - $12.35 per hour
   • Employment growth in Arizona - 27.1 percent between 2006 and 2016
5. Customer service representative - These employees serve as a point of contact for customers to ensure they receive a good quality of service from the company. Customer service representatives were among the largest occupations during 2008, accounting for 2.3 million jobs throughout America. Most employers require a high school diploma, although some require an associates degree, as well as on-the-job training.
   • Average salary in America - $30,379 per hour
   • Employment growth in America - 18 percent between 2008 and 2018

La-Z-Boy recently celebrated the opening of the company's 500th Comfort Studio at Grand Home Furnishings in West Virginia. While continuously demonstrating it's commitment to quality, comfort and partnership, La-Z-Boy has seen its network of Comfort Studio stores grow during the past few years.

"The Comfort Studio format is an invaluable part of our sales mix, and we have focused on growing the network to allow even more customers to access the full variety and comfort of La-Z-Boy furniture," Greg White, senior vice president of sales and merchandising for La-Z-Boy, said. "The 500th studio represents a major milestone for the Comfort Studio format and La-Z-Boy, and we're happy to celebrate it with our partner, Grand Home Furnishings."

La-Z-Boy Comfort Studios feature between 3,000 and 9,000 square feet of retail space dedicated to a wide variety of furniture for the family room and living room, including the company's famous recliners, motion sofas, sleep sofas, sectionals and leather upholstery.

Comfort Studios throughout the country have taken on their own shape and personality, as La-Z-Boy allows each retailer to customize the program according to their available space, customer demand and available costs.

The Comfort Studio at Grand Home Furnishings measures 5,000 square feet and marks the 13th Comfort Studio within the store. The companies have been working together for decades.

"We're proud to celebrate this milestone accomplishment with La-Z-Boy, and we look forward to celebrating more milestones and sales together in the future," George B. Cartledge Jr., CEO of Grand Home Furnishings, said. "Our customers recognize and appreciate the reputation and value of La-Z-Boy furniture, and the inclusion of the Comfort Studio at our newest location expresses our commitment to offer the best selection of comfortable, quality furnishings available."

Check out this employment and career video production for La-Z-Boy:

Video By Jobing

A recent survey from Manpower found that while 80 percent of hiring managers expect less than 5 percent of their employees to voluntarily leave the company during 2010, 60 percent of employees plan to pursue new job opportunities if the economy improves this year.

This potentially high turnover rate could put employers at both a workforce and knowledge disadvantage. And most employers aren't prepared to deal with such a situation, the survey found, as 31 percent said they do not have a proactive process in place to capture employees' job knowledge.

"These survey results are a wake-up call to employers," Jorge Perez, senior vice president of staffing for Manpower, North America, said. "As soon as the job market gains momentum, we will see a high volume of workers leaving their roles for new positions. Given that most companies are operating with slimmed-down staff levels, there is little redundancy in jobs roles, and that puts employers at high risk of losing critical organizational knowledge."

Fortunately, there are some things employers can do to better their positions, even if they don't anticipate a large number of employees fleeing their company. Two of the most important things any company can do are align themselves with an RPO company and have an outplacement plan in place.

Setting up a relationship with an RPO company will come in handy if you find yourself short-staffed and need to find the best possible candidate in the shortest amount of time. Outsourcing the recruiting process also will help you save valuable time and resources within your own company.

Finally, take the initiative to offer your exiting employees outplacement assistance. This will not only help the displaced employee find a new job, but also will comfort your remaining employees and uphold your company brand and reputation. Visit http://outplacing.com to learn more.

One way to find out what an employer might see about you is to conduct a search of yourself on the big search engines, including Google, Yahoo and Bing. Any information that comes up under your name can mean the difference between whether or not you get a job.

It's also important to carefully evaluate the information on all your social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. A recent study found that 53 percent of employers are conducting background checks on search engines and social networks.

There are some things you can do to improve your online image and make sure that your name stays at the top of Google rankings. Here are six ways to own your search results, as compiled by Dan Schawbel on BNET:

1. Buy your domain name - It will cost less than $30 a year. If the extension .com - the most valuable extension - is not available for your full name, then try using your middle initial or full middle name, or brand yourself around a nickname or topic. You should also buy .net and .org extensions, if they're available. In search engines, domain names reign supreme and usually show up first for a keyword search - and .com reigns over other extensions. For example, Google the word "time" and time.com, the website of Time Magazine, will show up first. (Ahead of time.gov, the official U.S. clock.)
2. Start a blog under your name, and update it frequently - There are so many good reasons to have a blog. But if anyone shares your name, a blog can be invaluable, ensuring that people find the "right" you online. Posting new content, however, is key. Google ranks sites based on their refresh rate or update frequency, as well as the number of inbound links. So a blog that has 100 posts generally will rank higher than a static web site.
3. Create a Google profile - Launched last year, Google profiles is a social network directory, much like Facebook's profile pages for users. If you search a common name like Mary Smith in Google, you'll see some profiles listed at the bottom of the page. If you want to be listed, you have to create a profile. To improve your chances of being selected as one of the first few profiles displayed, make sure to fill out all the fields completely. Also, if you add links to your other social networks on the Google profile, it will help boost the rankings of those pages, too.
4. Cultivate bloggers and reporters - If The New York Times or a respected industry blog gives a positive review of your work, that positive mention will come up very high in Google searches for your name. Of course a negative mention from The Times will come up equally high in search results. So be judicious: Seek out reporters and bloggers interested in your area of expertise, build relationships by offering useful information, and then politely ask for support.
5. Claim your name on the largest social networks - Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all rank high in Google search results, so make sure you own your full name (or the name you use for business) on all of them. This means adding options to get your name into the URL for your account. On Facebook, go to Facebook.com/usernames. For Twitter, make sure to register your full name as the account name. On LinkedIn, create a custom URL, so that it reads "linkedin.com/in/yourfullname." Also, make sure to join social networking sites that cater to your niche. For instance, if you’re a musician looking to build your audience, you should get yourself an account on MySpace.com.
6. Become a guest contributor - Writing guest blog posts or articles for web sites will help increase the number of search engine results that come up under your name. These contributions will also boost your overall ranking and your web site traffic, because there will be more links back to your site. (Guest contributions should always include your bio, with a link to your web site.) You should also return the favor and invite others to contribute to your blog. Your blog will have updated content and more links in, and thus a higher Google ranking - and you'll get a little break from blogging, too.

"Economic Benefits of Maryland's Stem Cell Program already Apparent," a new study conducted by Sage Policy Group, Inc. for the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, found that the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund supports 514 local jobs - with an average salary of $64,000 - and facilitates $71.3 million in business sales throughout the state.

The study found that the program's grants have created:

• 250 direct jobs with $21.8 million in labor income and $35.5 million in business sales
• 104 indirect jobs with $5.5 million in labor income and $14.9 million in business sales
• 160 induced jobs with $6.8 million in labor income and $20.9 million in business sales

"The findings of this economic development analysis validate, on paper, what supporters of stem cell research in our state have been saying for years – that Maryland’s investment in stem cell research is not only critical to advancing science, but to moving our state’s economy forward," Gov. Martin O’Malley said.

"Without the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, more than 500 Marylanders would be without a job and millions of direct and indirect dollars in state revenue would be lost," he continued. "In this uncertain economy, the continued investment in stem cell research remains sound and valuable."

The study also found that Maryland's stem cell industry has been able to return almost $3 million to state and local government through support of income generation, retail activity and property tax payments.

"The impressive results of this study support the work of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission and the goals of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund," John Wasilisin, acting president and executive director of TEDCO, said. "The fund has reached great milestones since its inception in 2006, including our program's stellar national reputation which attracts the best and brightest in the field to the State of Maryland. With the support of the Governor and the legislature, our greatest achievements are still to come and we look forward to the work that lies ahead.”

The study was based on data from the first two years of the MSCRF, during which time the commission awarded 82 projects totaling $38 million to Maryland stem cell researchers.

Columbus-based Huntington Bancshares Inc. recently announced that it will offer $4 billion in lending to small businesses in the Midwest during the next three years. About $360 million of that investment will go to small businesses in Pittsburgh, which could affect 2,500 companies.

Huntington is currently the eighth-largest bank by deposits and the fourth-largest Small Business Administrator lender in Pittsburgh. The company plans to add more than 12 business bankers in the city, more than doubling the current number.

Huntington will add a total of 150 business bankers throughout its markets to aggressively call on small businesses, according to an article by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The company said it expects this effort to result in 27,000 loans to small businesses during the three-year period.

"Small businesses are the engine for our economic recovery and future job growth in the Midwest," Steve Steinour, chairman, president and CEO of Huntington, said. "We know that small businesses generate 65 percent of new jobs, and we want to help our area recover by jump-starting small business hiring.

"It's clear that healthy small businesses foster growth and vitality in the communities they serve," he continued. "We view this commitment as a significant opportunity as this stage of the overall economic recovery."

Another plus - Huntington has expanded its criteria for loan applications, which should attract the many businesses that suffered losses during the recession, disqualifying them from applying for loans. Now, if a business is experiencing a turnaround with several quarters of profitability and can provide reasonable projections, Huntington will include those results when evaluating loan applications.

Huntington also plans to launch small business CEO roundtables in Midwestern cities so Steinour can directly hear about companies' needs and challenges.

The City of Portland recently announced that it has reached a final agreement with Peregrine Power, LLC to renovate PGE Park and upgrade the Portland Timbers to a Major League Soccer franchise. That move will help create local jobs in the construction industry and continuing revenue, visitors and vital spending.

"I'm confident that this agreement will serve Portlanders now and for years to come," Mayor Sam Adams said. "We will put construction workers back to work right away, and in the long‐term, MLS represents a smart investment in Portland's future success. Building on the Northwest's long‐standing soccer heritage, we can bring Portlanders together around another great sports team."

City officials worked with Peregrine to ensure the public-private partnership would uphold Portland's commitment to supporting entrepreneurship in the business community and better shield residents from financial risk.

The agreement promises that the project will not impact the city's general fund, will not impact the city's ability to provide basic services and will not receive any Urban Renewal funding.

"It has been a long and tough negotiation to achieve an agreement with adequate safeguards for the city, but the protections for the city in this deal are unrivaled by similar agreements around the country," Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard said. "The next phase immediately delivers much needed family wage jobs to our city, and lays the foundation for a long and fruitful relationship between the citizens of Portland and its new Major League Soccer franchise."

Portland's contribution to PGE Park, which is LEED Silver certified, will primarily be financed through private investment and revenues from sports spectators. The private investor has guaranteed the city will receive projected revenue, even if the new franchise or the league fails. In addition, it is guaranteed the city will receive operating revenue and the team will stay in Portland for 25 years.

Once renovated, PGE Park also will be used by Portland State University's football program and the general public for community events.

During 2008, about $4.5 billion was paid to employees in Oregon's financial activities industry, which currently employs more than 88,000 workers, making up 5.2 percent of the state's overall employment.

According to the Oregon Employment Department, the state's financial activities industry includes:

• Credit intermediation and related activities - 28,760 employees, average yearly salary of $50,045
• Insurance carriers and related activities - 26,488 employees, average yearly salary of $58,621
• Real estate - 20,335 employees, average yearly salary of $32,968
• Rental and leasing services - 7,196 employees, average yearly salary of $27,693
• Securities, commodity contracts and investments - 4,864 employees, average yearly salary of $116,619
• Funds, trusts and other financial vehicles and monetary authorities - 613 employees, average yearly salary of $52,347
• Lessors of non-financial intangible assets - 335 employees, average yearly salary of $60,122

Although finance jobs in Oregon have remained strong, the industry has still felt some effects from the economic recession. Since the recession began in December 2007, the real estate and rental and leasing services sectors took the biggest hit, losing a combined 8,000 jobs, or 20 percent of their workforce.

Employment in banking and mortgage industries decreased by 2,600 jobs, or 8 percent, while all other financial sectors combined saw a 5.7 percent decrease in employment. The insurance carriers and related activities sector added 400 jobs.

Despite those losses, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation found that the number of financial institutions in Oregon actually increased during the last two years. The state went from having 59 financial institutions, with a total of 1,086 offices, during 2008 to having 61 financial institutions, with a total of 1,119 offices, during 2009.

And with many economists proclaiming that the recession is nearing an end or already over, the financial activities industry is facing a positive outlook for the near future. From 2008 to 2018, the industry as a whole is expected to add 3,800 jobs throughout the state, accounting for a growth rate of 4 percent.

The finance and insurance sector is expected to add jobs at an even faster rate, accounting for the majority of growth within the industry, increasing by 3,600 jobs, or 6 percent. The real estate and rental and leasing services sectors are expected to add about 100 jobs throughout the state.