Bay Area CIOs Reveal Second-Quarter Hiring Plans

MENLO PARK, Calif., March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Thirteen percent of Bay Area chief information officers (CIOs) surveyed recently plan to expand their IT teams in the second quarter of 2013, according to the just-released Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report. In addition, 65 percent of Bay Area CIOs plan to hire only to fill open IT roles, 20 percent have put hiring plans on hold, and 3 percent expect to reduce their IT staff. This is the first quarter that Robert Half has conducted a survey of this kind specific to the Bay Area.

Q2 Bay Area IT Hiring Forecast

*Numbers may not total 100 percent due to rounding.

"We're seeing  continued IT hiring activity in the Bay Area, especially as more companies upgrade from applications and hardware that's being phased out," said Megan Slabinski, Bay Area district president of Robert Half Technology. "Demand is particularly strong for network engineers, web developers and business intelligence developers within the healthcare, professional services and legal sectors."

The IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report is based on telephone interviews with more than 100 CIOs from companies in the Bay Area with 100 or more employees. The survey was developed by Robert Half Technology and conducted by an independent research firm.  In order for the study 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, 66 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 data/database management (18 percent), networking (12 percent) and applications development (10 percent).

Confidence in Business Growth and IT Investments
The survey results suggest that Bay Area CIOs are optimistic about their companies' growth and IT investments. Eighty-nine percent of CIOs reported being somewhat or very confident in their companies' prospects for growth in the second quarter of 2013.

Seventy-nine percent of CIOs also said they were confident that their firms would invest in IT projects in the second quarter of 2013.

Skills in Demand
Among the Bay Area technology executives surveyed, 45 percent said that database management is the skill set in greatest demand within their IT department. Network administration and Windows administration followed, with 45 percent and 42 percent of the response, respectively.

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 www.rht.com. Visitors can also request a copy of the Robert Half Technology 2013 Salary Guide, which includes a wide range of IT job descriptions.

SOURCE Robert Half Technology

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