Cash bonuses of $3,000 for workers who help their employers recruit new software engineers.

A chance to win an Apple iPad on a local tech company’s recruitment website.

Drive-time radio spots touting openings at one software company and billboards advertising the cycle-friendly attributes of another that is hiring.

It’s not the dotcom gold rush of 10 years ago. But technology companies in and around Seattle are scrambling to fill hundreds of positions—especially openings for software engineers.

“Anyone who is a qualified, competent software engineer, if they really want a job, they can get a job,” said Rich James, recruiting manager at F5 Networks, which has about 40 local information technology jobs to fill.

The race for tech workers is a welcome sign of strength in an industry that saw layoffs from Microsoft and others just 18 months ago. Nationally, the unemployment rate among software engineers stood at 5.5 percent last quarter, half the unemployment rate for all workers. In the Seattle area, the jobless rate for software talent is probably below 3 percent, said Paul Kostek, an engineer and IT career consultant in Bellevue, Washington.

Companies that cut back earlier are now finding they have to “innovate or die” in order to keep pace with new technologies, Kostek said. That often means adding staff.

Apple’s iPad stirred the quiet tablet-computer market, Kostek said. “All of a sudden…other companies like Dell and Google have realized if they don’t do something they have lost the marketplace. Change is taking place pretty dramatically.”

Demand for IT workers is likely to continue rising this year, tracking the recovery among tech companies, Kostek said. Many firms are hiring temps, often as a trial run for a permanent position. Workers in specialized areas such as cybersecurity, gaming, and health care electronic record keeping are in big demand, Kostek said.

One downside: Many small, local tech companies are seeing stiff competition from industry giants like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon for the best talent.