Hiring Expected to Crawl Upward

Sixteen percent of CIOs say they expect to increase hiring of IT professionals in the third quarter, according to a national poll conducted by Menlo Park, Calif., IT recruiting firm RHI Consulting.

Of 1,400 CIOs surveyed, 80 percent said they expect no change in IT hiring, while 3 percent said they expect to cut the number of IT workers at their companies. The net number of CIOs adding to their IT workforces—13 percent–is up three percentage points over last quarters outlook. Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of RHI, said in a statement that systems upgrades and Web initiatives are now priorities for companies as they “work to increase their competitiveness through greater efficiencies, enhanced security and improved client service.” Lee also said companies are shying away from hiring full-time IT workers in favor of relying on consultants until they can be certain that they have long-term needs for permanent staff.

RHIs report, “Information Technology Hiring Index,” echoed the findings of the Information Technology Association of Americas recently released work force study in finding expectations of stronger hiring in the South. According to RHIs survey, 22 percent of South Atlantic technology executives expect to hire IT people, and only 1 percent predict work force reductions. (To read about the ITAA report, click here.)

The Pacific coast isnt far behind, though. Nineteen percent of CIOs expect to expand their IT departments, while just 1 percent anticipate cuts. RHIs Lee said in the statement that the skills most in demand are network administration, technical support and quality assurance.

In the West South Central and East South Central states, CIOs expect net hiring increases of 15 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

As far as industries go, technical executives in the fields of finance, insurance and real estate are the most optimistic, expecting net gains in hiring of 19 percent. Transportation CIOs are looking at a 17 percent increase in IT hiring, and professional services CIOs are expecting a net 15 percent increase in hiring.