Human resources professionals and hiring managers in the greater Chicago and south Florida markets plan to increase their hiring of accounting, finance and IT professionals in the coming 12 months, according to the fourth-quarter accounting, finance and IT hiring forecast study conducted by staffing provider Brilliant and Richard Curtin, professor and director of surveys at the University of Michigan.

The study found one third of businesses reported unfilled positions in accounting, finance and IT, and the overall strength in their hiring plans indicates continued growth within their businesses. Among all survey respondents, 25% planned to increase hiring of accounting and finance professionals, up from 17% in a similar survey last quarter and 20% at this same time last year.

“This was the highest level we’ve seen since 28% was reported back in the Q4 2014 Hiring Forecast,” Curtin said. “Further, one third reported unfilled positions among their accounting, finance and IT teams.”

For the next 12 months, 19% of companies surveyed plan to increase IT hiring — down from 27% in the third-quarter survey — and 25% plan to increase their accounting/finance hiring, up from 17% last quarter and the highest level in two years.

The survey also found plans to hire additional temporary professionals have somewhat dropped; 15% of IT firms expect to hire additional temporary professionals, down from 23% in the third-quarter survey but still higher than the 10% at the same time last year. The most recent trends have shown declines in nearly every reason to hire IT temporary professionals, with the sole exception of a minor increase in needs for in-demand special projects.

For accounting/finance firms, 10% plan to hire additional temporary professionals in the fourth quarter, down from 15% in the prior quarter.

“Our study brings important insight into the future of accounting, finance and IT, and the overall health of the labor market,” Brilliant CEO Jim Wong said. “We haven’t seen a spike in hiring plans like this in quite some time. This is a remarkable degree of optimism given the unpredictability of the economy and the tightened talent pool.”

The survey included almost 3,000 human resources professionals and hiring managers within the greater Chicago and south Florida market and was conducted between July 18 and Aug. 5, 2016.