Bay Area CIOs Reveal Hiring Plans For First Half Of 2015

Survey Finds 31 Percent of Bay Area CIOs Plan to Expand IT Teams

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Dec 02, 2014, 08:02 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The just-released Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report for the Bay Area shows that 31 percent of Bay Area chief information officers (CIOs) surveyed recently plan to expand their IT teams in the first half of 2015. This is up 15 points compared to projections from the previous six-month period (July – December 2014). Another 60 percent plan to hire only for open IT roles, 10 percent plan to put hiring plans on hold, and none expects to reduce their IT staff in the first half of the year.

Bay Area IT Hiring Forecast for first six months of 2015.

Bay Area IT Hiring Forecast	July – Dec. 2014*	Jan. – June 2015*
CIOs adding more staff to IT departments	16%	31%
CIOs planning to hire only for open IT roles	71%	60%
CIOs who plan to put IT hiring plans on hold	14%	10%
CIOs who plan to reduce their IT staff	0%	0%
Don't know future hiring plans	0%	0%

*Numbers do not total 100 percent due to rounding.

View an infographic of the research findings.

"The Bay Area is experiencing intense IT hiring due to continued software platform upgrades, virtualization projects and mobile initiatives," said Megan Slabinski, Bay Area district president of Robert Half Technology. "We continue to see a 'war for talent' for in-demand roles, including front-end web developers, data analysts, system administrators and system architects."

The 2015 hiring projections are based on interviews with 100 CIOs who were asked to provide a six-month hiring outlook. The surveys were developed by Robert Half Technology and conducted by an independent research firm. In order to ensure that companies from all segments were represented, the sample was stratified by number of employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper number of employees in the greater metropolitan Bay Area. Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis and has been tracking IT hiring activity in the United States since 1995.

Recruiting Challenges
In terms of recruiting, 70 percent of Bay Area CIOs said it's somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals today. It is most challenging to find skilled talent in the functional areas of software development (19 percent), security (17 percent) and help desk/technical support (17 percent).

Confidence in Business Growth
The survey results suggest that Bay Area CIOs are optimistic about their companies' growth. Ninety-one percent of CIOs reported being somewhat or very confident in their companies' prospects for growth in the first half of the year. This compares to 89 percent in the second half of 2014.

Skills in Demand
Sixty-one percent of Bay Area technology executives surveyed said that both database management and desktop support are among the skill sets in greatest demand within their IT departments. Network administration followed with 58 percent of the response.

About Robert Half Technology
With more than 100 locations worldwide, Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. Robert Half Technology offers online job search services at rht.com. Visitors can also request a copy of the Robert Half Technology 2015 Salary Guide, which includes a wide range of IT job descriptions.

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SOURCE Robert Half Technology