The percentage of firms in the Chicago and South Florida markets with open finance/accounting and IT positions declined in a new survey released by staffing provider Brilliant when compared to a similar survey in the previous quarter. The percentage of firms with hiring plans also fell.

However, the survey’s data do not show that the economic expansion is slowing, according to Richard Curtin, director of surveys of consumers at the University of Michigan, who conducted the survey with Brilliant.

Brilliant’s survey found 38% of businesses had openings in full-time, permanent accounting and finance roles, down slightly from 41% in a similar survey in the previous quarter. Looking at IT, 19% reported having vacant full-time, permanent positions in IT, down from the 27% reported last quarter.

Further, 9% of companies said they planned to increase IT hiring in the next 12 months — down from 14% in the previous survey — and 17% plan to increase their finance/accounting hiring, down from 25% last quarter.

“These numbers reflect the natural response to a more vigorous job growth which has recently occurred,” Curtain said. “Overall, the hiring data gives no indication that the expansion is slowing — now the third-longest in history.”

Survey respondents reported a small decline in plans to hire temporary accounting/finance professionals, but a marginal increase in plans to hire temporary IT professionals.

Nineteen percent of IT firms expect to hire additional temporary professionals, up from 18% in the previous survey and 15% reported in the fourth-quarter 2016 hiring forecast.

However, for accounting/finance firms, 9% plan to hire additional temporary professionals in the fourth-quarter forecast, down from 13% in the previous survey.

The survey also asked the reasons human resources professionals and hiring managers intend to hire additional temporary IT professionals. Favorable business prospects meant that few respondents cited they only needed temporary teams; however, it could be that businesses simply changed how they described their need for temporary professionals, as 10% reported that in-demand roles needed to be filled, up from zero last quarter.

The survey, which included more than 850 human resources professionals and hiring managers within the greater Chicago and South Florida markets, was conducted between July 18 and Aug. 1.