It's a time of plenty for local technology employers.

As the economy slows, more experienced software, networking and database professionals are hunting for jobs. And mass layoffs at a Durham technology company are making hundreds more available.

"There is definitely more talent looking for work than last year," said Joe Colopy, CEO of e-mail marketing firm Bronto, which is hiring. "We've seen an uptick in applicants."

About 100 turned out for Bronto's job fair Tuesday, held at the company's headquarters in downtown Durham. A similar event drew 50 job seekers two years ago.

The increase suggests tougher economic times, Colopy said, but it also stems from the fallout at Motricity, a software company that is a stone's throw away.

Motricity announced in March that it would slash 250 local workers this year and move its headquarters to the West Coast. That puts dozens of tech, finance and marketing professionals into the job market. That's a plus for local hiring managers, but the job seekers are caught in the onset of recession.

Almost a quarter-million U.S. jobs vanished in the first three months of the year, and banks could cut 200,000 additional jobs in the year ahead. In the Triangle, unemployment inched up to 4.2 percent in March, the third consecutive monthly increase.

Add it up, and the job scene is slowly becoming an employers' market.

Hard-to-find technical workers or those with unique management experience are in considerable demand, local employers say.

Several companies have snatched some of Motricity's staff:

* Matthew Petzold, former chief financial officer at Motricity, took over the same role at Internet service provider Bandwidth.com, based in Cary.

* Les Hamashima, former communications director, this week began working as head of global public relations for telecommunications software maker Tekelec in Morrisville.

* Christopher "Kip" Turco, former head of operations and engineering, is chief operating officer at data storage company Hosted Solutions, based in Raleigh.

The quick re-engagement of these executives opens doors for perhaps dozens more soon-to-be jettisoned Motricity workers: These workers now have influential contacts at technology companies that are hiring.

Of course, not every Motricity worker will land safely. Some could struggle to find work. Others could decide to move their families out of the market or take lower-paying jobs.

But by and large, the rehiring of Motricity employees would speak well of the local economy's ability to continue absorbing employment shocks.

It has happened before.

Nortel Networks' years-long downsizing effectively transferred dozens of former employees to Cisco Systems, Tekelec and other networking and telecom companies.

When the company now known as GlaxoSmithKline shed staff, many turned up at other local pharmaceutical research companies.

Hamashima said he was contacted by four or five recruiters after Motricity's layoff announcement. "HR people were asking if they could be of service to Motricity employees," he said.

Indeed, several profitable, expanding companies jumped on the news of the Motricity layoffs.

"We accelerate hiring if we become aware that certain types of talent are available that we otherwise couldn't find," said Bryce Boothby, chief operating officer of Lulu, an online clearinghouse of self-published media. "You just know that you're not going to be able to get that person again."

The company last month hired Jeff Kramer, Motricity's former head of technology. He now runs Lulu's engineering and technology operations. Kramer took up the newly created position on a Monday, less than 72 hours after his announced departure from Motricity.

"I thought it was going to take three to six months to get a job," said Kramer, who, under Motricity's planned downsizing, was given several months to find a new job.

He got word to Lulu through a contact who had connections at the Morrisville company, which is expanding to a new headquarters in Raleigh and plans to essentially double its head count to 200 within the next 12 months.

"This shows that there are opportunities," Kramer said. "Employers might not beat your door down, but there are opportunities."