Slow Market Won't Stop IT Salary Spending

This has been one of the worst IT job markets in memory, and it looks like the recovery will be slow to take hold. There are fewer jobs available, and companies aren't competing for talent as they did in the past.

Still, nearly 40% of businesses expect to spend more this year on IT salaries and benefits than they did last year. The majority of companies figure that they'll spend about the same as last year, while a small percentage expect to spend less than in 2001. Those results are reflected in InformationWeek Research's Outlook For 2002 report of 300 business-technology executives at small, midsize, and large companies. Small sites have revenue of up to $100 million, midsize from $100 million to $1 billion, and large sites more than $1 billion. About 100 business-technology managers were surveyed in each category.

The survey shows that most companies have fewer job vacancies than they did a year ago.

About two out of five business-technology managers surveyed at small companies predict they'll spend more on IT salaries and benefits this year compared with 2001, while only 6% foresee a decline in spending on employees. And 54% say that spending on salaries and benefits will remain the same compared with last year.

At midsize companies, 56% of business technology managers surveyed expect to spend about the same on employee salaries and benefits as they did last year. About 36% expect to spend more in 2002, while 8% expect to spend less.

Only 9% of business-technology managers surveyed at large companies expect to spend less than last year, while 39% expect spending on IT salaries and benefits to be higher this year than in 2001. About 52% expect spending to remain the same year over year.

Overall, the numbers are pretty much the same regardless of company size, with little difference between expectations among managers at small companies and large companies.

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Paul Travis
Senior News Editor
[email protected]