Chicago CIOs Reveal Hiring Plans For First Half Of 2015

Survey Finds 17 Percent of Chicago CIOs Plan to Expand IT Teams

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Dec 02, 2014, 08:03 ET

CHICAGO, Dec. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The just-released Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report for Chicago shows that 17 percent of Chicago-area chief information officers (CIOs) surveyed recently plan to expand their IT teams in the first half of 2015. This is up 4 points compared to projections from the previous six-month period (July – December 2014). Another 68 percent plan to hire only for open IT roles, 11 percent plan to put hiring plans on hold, and 4 percent expect to reduce their IT staff in the first half of the year.

Robert Half Technology's Chicago IT hiring forecast for first half of 2015.

Chicago IT Hiring Forecast	July – Dec. 2014*	Jan. – June 2015
CIOs adding more staff to IT departments	13%	17%
CIOs planning to hire only for open IT roles	77%	68%
CIOs who plan to put IT hiring plans on hold	8%	11%
CIOs who plan to reduce their IT staff	0%	4%
Don't know future hiring plans	3%	0%

*Numbers do not total 100 percent due to rounding.

View an infographic of the research findings.

"We're seeing IT hiring across multiple industries in Chicago – from manufacturing to healthcare to financial services," said Randy Wolf, Chicago regional vice president of Robert Half Technology. "Budgets are anticipated to be up in 2015, and as a result, many companies are prepared to add IT staff in the first two quarters to help their organizations run more efficiently. Technology professionals with specialized skills in C#, PHP, ASP.NET, VMware and Citrix will be in particularly high demand."

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 Chicago 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 Chicago 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 (18 percent) and networking (16 percent).

Confidence in Business Growth
The survey results suggest that Chicago CIOs are optimistic about their companies' growth. Ninety 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 88 percent in the second half of 2014.

Skills in Demand
Sixty percent of Chicago technology executives surveyed said that network administration is among the skill sets in greatest demand within their IT departments. Database management and Windows administration followed, each with 59 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