"The Pittsburgh area has a lot of high tech activity and growth, not to mention the great corporations that are located there.  It's a natural step in JobCircle's continued pledge to provide the best regional online recruitment tools to IT professionals," said Joe Stubblebine, president of JobCircle.com.

Along with the 1,800 corporations and businesses that have a presence in the Pittsburgh market, including PNC Bank, and Sony Electronics, there are several major universities like Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, with high-tech programs.  Both factors were considered in the decision to expand JobCircle's reach, the first for the third-year company.

The Pittsburgh region, according to the Pittsburgh Technology Council, has witnessed a 12 percent increase in high-tech employment since 1996, with an annual payroll of $5 billion.

"That 12 percent increase brings the total to more than 112,000 technology workers in the area," said Bob Etheridge, vice president of marketing for JobCircle.  "But the recruitment resources at their disposal are limited to the local media and that is a void we intend to fill."

JobCircle, Etheridge said, plans to initially flood the southwestern Pennsylvania market with a blitz of radio and television advertisements and billboard placements to build brand recognition.  Those efforts, he said, will target passive and active job seekers as well as corporations and small businesses.

The company hopes to capitalize on the same regional approach that has made it one of the fastest growing online recruitment sites in the southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and New York City region.

"One of the reasons we have been so successful is because the technology we use allows us to target a specific region.  As a result, employers in that region see a cost savings that the national recruitment sites are unable to match," Etheridge said.

Along with employment listings, Pittsburgh job seekers will have access to the same content and career management information that JobCircle offers elsewhere.  Additionally, future virtual career fairs and other events are being planned.

The expansion announcement comes on the heels of other developments that continue to solidify JobCircle's presence on the web.  The company recently received the Philadelphia region's 2000 Techie Award for providing a positive impact on the technical recruiting industry in the Delaware Valley.  The Delaware Valley Technical Recruiters Network presented the award.

Among the services JobCircle provides are a database of regional employment opportunities, resume submission, career development, monthly columns, discussion databases, tech news, regional IT events, and more.  JobCircle boosts a database that includes more than 26,000 registered job seekers, more than 7,500 employment opportunities, and nearly 400 local and regional employers.

Built by IT professionals for IT professionals, Jobcircle.com is among the fastest growing Internet-based employment services in the country.  A free service to job seekers, Jobcircle.com offers a comprehensive resume posting process, unlimited search agents, a hit counter for your resume and a Personal Control Center that allows you to apply for jobs, modify your resume and change the status of your job search.  For information, visit www.JobCircle.com or email Bob Etheridge at bob@jobcircle.com.