U.S. CIOs Reveal Hiring Plans For First Half Of 2016
TECH HIRING REMAINS SOLID; CINCINNATI, CHARLOTTE ANTICIPATE PARTICULARLY STRONG HIRING
TECH HIRING REMAINS SOLID; CINCINNATI, CHARLOTTE ANTICIPATE PARTICULARLY STRONG HIRING
MENLO PARK, Calif., Dec. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty-two percent of U.S. chief information officers (CIOs) surveyed recently plan to expand their information technology (IT) teams in the first six months of 2016, according to the just-released Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report. This number matches plans from the prior six-month period and is up 3 percentage points from one year ago. Sixty-three percent of CIOs intend to hire only for open IT roles, 13 percent anticipate putting hiring plans on hold, and 2 percent expect to reduce their IT staff in the first half of the year.
| U.S. IT Hiring Forecast* |
Jan.-June 2016 |
July-Dec. 2015 |
Jan.-June 2015 |
| CIOs planning to add more staff to IT departments |
22% |
22% |
19% |
| CIOs planning to hire only for open IT roles |
63% |
67% |
68% |
| CIOs planning to put IT hiring plans on hold |
13% |
9% |
10% |
| CIOs planning to reduce their IT staff |
2% |
2% |
3% |
| Don't know future hiring plans |
0% |
1% |
1% |
| *Numbers may not total 100 percent due to rounding. |
View an infographic of research highlights.
"Organizations have spent the past few years building core technology teams that can keep pace with rapid marketplace changes, resulting in an industry that's near full-employment," said John Reed, senior executive director of Robert Half Technology. "Hiring remains steady, and there is particularly strong demand for staff and consultants to complete short-term projects, implementations and upgrades."
The hiring forecasts are based on interviews with more than 2,500 CIOs from 25 major U.S. markets who were asked to provide a six-month hiring outlook.
Hiring Hot Spots
Among the 25 major markets included in the IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report, CIOs in the following cities were most optimistic about increasing the size of their teams:
| CIOs adding more staff to IT departments |
% Change from July- December 2015 |
|
| Cincinnati |
30% |
+14% |
| Charlotte |
30% |
+8% |
| New York |
28% |
+6% |
| Boston |
25% |
+6% |
Recruiting Challenges & Skills in Demand
Recruiting remains a challenge: 60 percent of CIOs said it's somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals today. They also revealed which skills are in greatest demand within their organizations. Top responses include:
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 2016 Salary Guide, which includes a wide range of IT job descriptions.
Survey Methodology
The survey was developed by Robert Half Technology and conducted by an independent research firm. To ensure that companies from all segments were represented in the study, the sample was stratified by number of employees. The results were weighted to reflect the appropriate employee population in the United States. The margin of error is +/-1.6 percent at the 90 percent confidence level. 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.
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SOURCE Robert Half Technology
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