IT Hiring Projected To Increase In Q1 2011

Network administrators are most in demand by U.S. CIOs, who are anticipating an 8% increase in IT hiring in the first quarter of 2011, according to a new survey of CIO's released by the Robert Half Technology job search company.

In phone surveys with 1,400 CIOs from U.S. companies with 100 or more employees, 11% of the respondents said they plan to add IT staff in the period while 3% plan cutbacks, representing an 8% overall increase. The net increase is up five points from the previous quarter's forecast.

"CIOs are reinitiating previously deferred projects and are more willing to invest in augmenting their teams," said John Reed, executive director of Robert Half Technology, in a statement. "As companies maximize operational efficiencies and strive to make information more accessible, they rely on their IT departments."

The skilled professional position most in demand is network administrator and that skill was cited by 17% of the survey respondents. The other chief skills cited by the CIOs were security (16%) and software development (11%). More than half of the respondents (54%) expect to be challenged by efforts to find suitable candidates in the coming quarter.

The two geographical regions in which IT hiring is expected to be the most intensive in the first quarter of 2011 are the East North Central, consisting of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, followed by the West South Central region, consisting of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

Other skills in high demand cited by the CIOs interviewed were Windows administration (Server 2000/2003/2008), followed by desktop support and database management.

In industry breakdowns, the health services segment is expected to be most challenged to find qualified candidates to fill job openings.

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