U.S. CIOs see increasing demand for IT skills, says study

Unemployed IT workers on the West Coast of the U.S. stand the best chance of finding jobs this year, though IT professionals across the U.S. are expected to be increasingly in demand, according to the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report.

The study found that 12 percent of chief information officers (CIOs) plan to hire staff in the fourth quarter this year. That's the highest level since the third quarter of 2002.

Even more CIOs expect to hire staff in the Pacific states, with 18 percent saying they plan to add new workers. After the Pacific states, the middle Atlantic region is also expected to produce new jobs. Sixteen percent of CIOs in the region plan to hire new workers.

The bigger hiring spike on the West Coast is due to the fact that companies there made severe cuts when the tech boom went bust. They're now beginning to expand again and are looking for staff to support that growth, the company said.

While a growing IT sector is good news for workers, the growth presents some challenges for CIOs. An increasing number of available jobs combined with a decrease in new computer science graduates in the market means that IT workers have the upper hand in bargaining situations. Also, CIOs are faced with the challenge of employee retention as workers begin to pursue potentially better positions at other companies, the company said.

Companies in finance, insurance and real estate are likely to be the most aggressive employers during the quarter. Web and applications developers, database administrators, networking professionals and software engineers are most likely to find work.

Microsoft Windows experts are most in demand, with 81 percent of CIOs looking for Windows administrators. Fifty one percent of CIOs said they're looking for SQL Server management. Networking is the specialty skill most in demand, with 19 percent of CIOs looking for networking specialists.

The new IT jobs will come as a result of general business growth, which is spurring new investments in technology and IT projects. Thirty-six percent of the CIOs planning to make new hires during the fourth quarter cited corporate expansion as the reason for growing their groups. Increased customer and end user support needs is spurring 21 percent of the CIOs with plans of hiring new workers to do so.

The report is published by Robert Half Technology, a staffing agency based in Menlo Park, California.

IDG News Service

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