In an effort to expand its Denver Tech Hub, Amazon has reported that it will more than double its tech workforce in the area. After opening an office in Boulder, Colorado, last fall, Amazon’s plans to expand its Denver presence falls right in line with what we’re seeing as a trend in the search and human capital space.
According to a press release from Amazon, the new 98,000 square foot office will be located in Denver’s lower downtown neighborhood.
Our executive search firm, JMJ Phillip, recently expanded into Denver with a new downtown office as well. In an employment market with a 3.6% unemployment rate, it has become imperative for companies to go to where the talent is. We’re seeing that across industries.
“For technology companies, especially at Amazon’s scale, you need the top 10% of technologies, so these companies are thinking ‘Where can I go to get that level of talent?’”, says James Philip, Founder and Chairman of Heavy Hitter Holdings. “Denver has seen positive population growth for the last decade, and everyone is fighting for talent. It makes sense for us to be in Denver.”
There are many attractive aspects to Denver as a city. The city presents an excellent quality of life for professionals – with excellent restaurants, entertainment, recreation, and scenery.
“If you think about a candidate, for example, from the Midwest, the idea of moving to Denver is quite attractive,” added Philip. “We’re finding that when you dive into researching the city, Denver is appealing to professionals even if they were never thinking of moving there in the first place. That is the appeal of the city for top talent.”
Just as Amazon is hiring across its corporate offices and tech hubs across North America, our firm will be expanding into various cities throughout the rest of this year and into early 2020. The talent map across the country is shifting, and it’s important for firms like ours to stay on top of these types of trends.