A recent survey confirms employers are still seeking techies with specific certified and noncertified skills – and many are willing to pay a premium for them. “The recession has had minimal impact on demand for IT skills in the areas such as architecture, business process, security, communications, e-commerce, and several ERP and infrastructure specializations,” notes David Foote, co-founder, chief executive, and chief research officer for research firm Foote Partners. Read more on how to optimize your skill sets for a better job at Dice.com.

57% of tech industry executives believe that the economy will recover next year, and 66% believe that the tech industry will recover faster than the economy, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a KPMG survey of senior executives at 130 tech companies. Read more at The Business Insider.

The unemployment rate in the U.S. was still 9.4 percent in July, but some cities are better than others to look for a job. Of the top 50 metro areas, Washington, D.C., is the easiest for unemployed workers to find a job, while Detroit is the hardest, according to a new Job Market Competition index put together by job search engine Indeed. Read more at TechCrunch.