According to the Yoh Index of Technology Wages, hourly wages for technology professionals hit all-time highs in 2007, but have experienced a decrease in wage growth in the first quarter of 2008.

Yoh began indexing pay rates in the technology sectors in January 2001. The Index hit a first quarter low of 110.55 in February 2008, when indexed to January 2001 (1/2001 = 100), indicating a 2.7 percent decrease from February 2007. Wages in March fared somewhat better, with a smaller decrease of .8 percent. Yoh says the Index results parallel current market and economic conditions.

"There is no denying the market's sluggishness," Jim Lanzalotto, Vice President of Strategy and Marketing for Yoh, said in a press release.. "The drop in wages this quarter, coupled with April's negative Bureau of Labor Statistics report on employment, paints a very lackluster picture of the economy. However, this continues to be a skill-driven market and we're still seeing pockets of strength in the tech sector, such as SAP, Oracle, security and product development, and software and hardware engineers. It is our hope that the strength found in these sectors will permeate the weaker sectors of the market and ultimately produce stronger wage growth for the second half of 2008."