IT Hiring Outlook Good for First Quarter 2013, Survey Finds

Good news for IT job seekers – in a survey of 1,400 chief information officers from around the country, 17 percent said they plan to expand their IT departments in the first quarter of 2013.

The statistics come from the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report. According to the survey, eight percent of (CIOs) are expecting cutbacks, meaning there is a projected net increase in hiring activity by nine percent. This is up six percentage points from the previous quarter’s projections. Seventy-five percent of the CIOs plan to maintain their current staffing levels.

Overall, 49 percent of technology executives expressed confidence their firms will be investing in IT projects in the first quarter.  According to the survey, IT security professionals (14 percent), application developers (12 percent) and data/database management professionals (12 percent) are the hardest to find.  

The survey follows IBM’s latest Tech Trends Report, which found that just one in ten organizations has the skills needed in advanced technologies such as business analytics, mobile computing, cloud computing, and social business. Within each subject area, approximately a quarter of the respondents reported major skill gaps, while more than 60 percent reported moderate-to-major shortfalls, according to the report.

In the case of the Robert Half report, database management is the skill in greatest demand, with 48 percent of the CIOs saying they are on the lookout for it. Network administration and web development/website design were next with 47 and 33 percent, respectively.  

CIOs in the Mountain states are planning to do the most hiring early next year, with a net 18 percent of executives anticipating adding IT staff. East North Central states such as Indiana and Michigan and West North Central states like Iowa and Kansas were next, with projected increases of 10 percent each in those regions.

“CIOs report higher demand for IT professionals in the first quarter, especially for those with skills in hot areas such as applications development and IT security,” said John Reed, senior executive director of Robert Half Technology, in a statement. “In the new year, we often see increased hiring as firms’ budgets for 2013 have been approved and they are able to hire additional personnel.”

Related Reading: Tech Talent Shortage Poised to Get Much Worse, Says IBM