The recession can be good for companies in the market for new technology, experts say. Many vendors are hurting, which may makes easier to negotiate pricing on new contracts.

With new customers few and far between, providers could be willing to drop prices. In addition to the costs of software licenses, deals can also be had when negotiating installation, training and maintenance costs.

The bottom line: Companies looking to spend are in the driver’s seat. Many experts say companies should buy now, if they can — especially in the case of products that improve efficiency and will cut costs down the road.

For evidence, take a look at the number of visa petitions the feds had received at this time last year and then check out the number they’ve gotten to date. The number this year is down by a third.

Despite this lower demand for overseas workers, foreign students are still looking to stay in America — many suppose because they already have jobs and want to be able to keep them.

The U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) started accepting H-1B visa applications on April 1. Last year at this time, it had gotten 163,000 for the 85,000 available visas.  (That included 65,000 visas for foreign workers with at least a bachelor’s degree and 20,000 for graduates of U.S. universities with advanced degrees.)

A USCIS spokesman said that based on preliminary numbers, this year the agency has “about half the petitions” it needs to meet the 2010 fiscal year cap of 65,000, but it is “just short of the 20,000 advanced degree cap.”

Looks like U.S. employers don’t have the jobs to offer domestic workers, much less those from other countries. It’s too soon to know how the economic stimulus money will affect IT hiring for the rest of the year, but if government IT projects begin soon, the USCIS could be seeing greater demand for additional IT talent from abroad.

Here are the top ten phrases and sentences to avoid, according to BuzzWhack.com:

1. “Can I see you in the conference room?” This one’s especially frightening if contact is initiated with a tap on the shoulder.
2. “Isn’t your performance review coming up soon?” No one likes being asked to defend how well they’re performing, especially in times like these.
3. “We don’t see this as a problem, but as an opportunity.” False optimism can be even scarier than the truth.
4. “I’ve always thought of us as family around here, but … ” But when the choice is between an employee and the manager’s mother, guess who the boss is siding with.
5. “You’re a great contributor, but … ” Compliments followed by “but” are a bad idea in general.
6. “Maintaining the status quo is no longer an option.” When your boss has to use a dead language to explain something, you can bet it’s going to be devastating news.
7. “We’re not planning to have layoffs, but there will be some restructuring.” No matter how often managers do it, using that euphamism doesn’t help.
8. “We’re going to refocus and concentrate on our core business.” What an employee hears: “We’re going back to the way things were before you were hired.”
9. “Due to the ongoing turmoil in the capital markets … ” No sentence with the words “turmoil” and “capital” have ever contained good news.
10. “They’ve asked everyone to come to the Employee Appreciation room for a 4 p.m. meeting.” News delivered late in the day probably means something bad for someone.

Can you think of any workplace phrases that have recently become off-limits? Share them in the comments section below.

The social networking Web site LinkedIn.

The number of visitors to the site in January increased by 22% over the previous month, according to recent data from comScore, a firm that measures Web traffic. The amount of time all users spent on the site in January was double the number from December.

The probable reason: The large number of recently unemployed people have flocked to the site looking for employment opportunities.

What it means to HR: If you still have jobs to fill, you can likely find many qualified candidates on LinkedIn.

The amount of worry employees are feeling varies depending on what field they’re in, according to a recent survey by Yahoo Hot Jobs.

Most concerned are employees in manufacturing and operations, with 27% of those workers saying they’re anxious about job security. Construction workers are second at 23%.

IT employees are also very concerned, with 20% of them reporting serious anxiety.

How supervisors can help

Examples of problems that may be caused by employees’ concerns: low morale, drops in productivity and higher turnover. Many employees are considering taking new jobs or even switching careers to find work that’s more secure, Yahoo reports.

The most important role player in helping employees stay focused and productive: their managers. Here are some tips for supervisors on managing people during uncertain times, according to HR consultant Bill Treasurer:

• Acknowledge the challenges while looking forward. Managers need to give employees solid advice on what the company and its workers can do to get through a difficult period.
• Don’t resort to threats. Sometimes managers’ own fears are reflected in how they manage their staffs. But getting too hard on people will only make things worse.
• Avoid sugar-coating everything. If managers remain overly upbeat no matter what happens, employees will see right through it. The key is to be optimistic, yet realistic.
• Look for opportunities. Challenges often bring out the best in great employees. Tough times can be a good opportunity for managers to find the most innovative and dedicated people on their staff.

There may be more talent available than usual — especially when it comes to hiring IT staff.

Officials at oDesk, a job board specializing in contract IT work, says the site has been flooded recently with candidates looking to get hired.

About 20,000 job-seekers posted ads on the site in November, representing a 40% increase from the previous month, Computerworld reports.

The bottom line: Any company still hiring will have a wider pool of applicants to choose from.

Also, oDesk currently lists 4,600 temporary and contract IT jobs — more than double the amount from a year ago. More companies appear to be taking advantage of the cost savings that hiring contractors can provide in many situations.

A new report just released by HR experts at Dice say that seven of 10 recruiters are curtailing IT hiring plans for the coming six months.

This is a dramatic change from Dice’s summer report when only about half of those survey were looking at cutbacks.

Based on talking with more than 1,000 respondents drawn from both corporate hiring managers and recruiting, staffing and consulting companies, the survey shows just how much the economic crisis has hit opportunities for IT pros

When asked, why the time to fill open positions is lengthening, the number one response is now the economy (52%), followed by the inability to find qualified technology professionals (23%) — a reversal of their rankings this summer.

“Given how tight the labor market still is for technology professionals, it is not surprising to see it ease along with the economic retrenchment,” said Tom Silver, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer. “While the coming months will undoubtedly see more layoffs as companies streamline costs, areas such as virtualization continue to show promise, especially as technology departments seek ways to save money and tighten budgets. In an age of streamlining, technology has never been more important.”

In fact, nearly half (48%) of all respondents admitted layoffs are likely in the next six months. It’s interesting that layoff expectations differ significantly between staffing, recruiting and consulting organizations (63% see it likely) and their potential clients themselves where 27% say technology workforce reductions are likely.

Likewise, 70% of respondents are seeing an increase in the number of candidates applying for positions. This dovetails with the resume trends on Dice as new resumes posted have increased 54% so far in the fourth quarter versus the same time last year.

With more qualified technology professionals competing for a dwindling number of positions, it’s not surprising that hiring managers and recruiters expect starting salaries to flatten. A majority (53%) expect flat salaries, while 27% anticipate paying slightly less than last year to new hires.

Most expect there to be a glut of IT workers in the market soon as the big organizations either merge or get shut down by restructuring and acquisition.

For the top execs, the golden parachutes should keep former CIOs in the style to which they’ve become accustomed.

But for lower level IT employees, the going may be a bit tougher.

As firms consolidate or are acquired, it stands to reason that staffs will merge and many will be let go.

That means some excellent IT talent could hit the job market soon — at bargain basement prices.

Many IT departments are feeling the pinch of today’s shaky economy, especially when it comes to paying staff. Here are some ways to keep morale and retention up when salary budgets are tight.

According to Information Week‘s annual Salary Survey, pay for IT pros has gone down for the first time since 2002. The median salary for IT staffers went from $78,000 to $76,000. (For managers, the average was $103,000, down from $105,000.)

Why the drop? Part of it’s the uncertain economy, which leads to shrinking IT staffing budgets. Other factors include an increase in offshoring and the replacement of retiring Baby Boomers with younger, less-experienced workers.

Whatever the cause, employee satisfaction has gone down along with pay. According to the survey, just 56% of IT staffers said they were happy with their compensation. That’s down from 63% last year.

So what can companies do to keep staff happy and hanging around when payroll budgets are tight?

Increasing skills

Since IT is a fast-moving field, one of the most valuable things you can offer technical staff is a chance to keep their skills up to date. There are number of ways to do so. For example:

• Tuition reimbursement – Only 30% of IT employees get help from their employers when they take classes or enter certification programs. But it’s a great way to increase loyalty and develop a more skilled staff.
• At-work training sessions – An IT manager or other speaker can give occasional lessons on skills the staff appears to be lacking. Holding sessions during lunch is a good way to get it done without taking up too much time.
• Job rotation - Having staff periodically switch roles is a simple way to expose people to knew challenges and help them gain knowledge.
• Mentoring - Pairing younger employees with more experienced colleagues is a good way help young folks learn and older workers feel more valued.

Training isn’t just good for boosting technical skills, either. These days, general business and industry knowledge is becoming increasingly important for IT pros, so those things should be incorporated into training programs, too.

Other tools

Aside from training and skills-boosting, here are some other low-cost ways to boost morale and retention:

• Empowerment – Asking for the opinions of talented staffers when decisions are made can be a key for keeping them on board.
• Flexibility - The option to do some work from home or set a flexible schedule can sweeten the benefits pot for many employees. A recent survey listed flex-time and telework as the most valuable fringe benefit for IT employees.
• Appreciation – Sounds corny, but it works. Taking the time to thank someone for a job well done can go a long way – especially if it’s with a handwritten note, or at a public workplace event.

And finally, of course, if you want to know what employees want, you don’t have to guess. Sit down with members of the IT staff and ask what benefits they care about.