Survey: IT hiring to continue increase

MENLO PARK, Calif. – Anticipated hiring growth at large IT companies fell to 4 percent for the upcoming quarter, down from a projected 7 percent for last quarter, according to the latest Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report.
Nevertheless, 87 percent of chief information officers are still confident their businesses will grow in the next three months, it said.
For New England, however, the survey projected no hiring growth; 2 percent of regional CIOs plan to hire IT personnel while 2 percent said they will cut IT staff. IT hiring is expected to grow most in the mid-Atlantic and Western states.
Fifty-five percent of CIOs projected that their companies will invest in IT projects next quarter.
Nearly half of CIOs – 48 percent – reported that skilled employees are hard to find. Survey respondents named networking administration as both the area in greatest demand and the field in which hiring is most challenging.
Retail and manufacturing businesses project 8 percent net growth in IT hiring next quarter. CIOs in professional services, transportation, communications, and utilities anticipate 5 percent IT hiring growth.
The survey, conducted by an independent research company, draws from telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs of companies with 100 or more employees.