Hiring Picture Improving

CIOs plan to increase hiring in the fourth quarter.

CIOs anticipate steady growth in the hiring of IT professionals, according to the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report.

Sixteen percent of executives polled plan to hire full-time IT staff in the fourth quarter of 2005 while just four percent expect personnel reductions. The net 12 percent increase in hiring is the largest net increase since the third quarter of 2002. Results are up one point from the previous quarter and six points from the same quarter last year.

The national poll includes responses from more than 1,400 CIOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 100 or more employees. It was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis.

Other key findings include:

• Business growth continues to be the primary motivation for adding IT staff;
• CIOs in the finance, insurance and real estate sector forecast particularly strong IT hiring activity in the fourth quarter;
• The Pacific states lead the nation in projected IT hiring activity, and
• Networking remains the specialty most in demand.

  ”Companies are making new investments in technology and initiating IT projects to support business growth,” said Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology. ”As a result, managers are expanding their workforces once again, adding IT personnel gradually to meet individual staffing needs.”

  Lee added that the improving employment environment, combined with a decline in the number of computer science graduates, is impacting the labor pool and slowly shifting the market in the candidates favor.

  Among CIOs who plan to hire in the fourth quarter, 36 percent said corporate expansion is the reason, while 21 percent cited increased customer and end-user support needs.

  This article was first published on CIOupdate.com. To read the full article, click here.