Full-time IT headcount is rising and contingent hiring is on a major upswing, according to TEKsystems’ quarterly IT Reality Check. The survey compares current market conditions on the state of spending, skill needs and impact areas to those originally reported in the company’s annual IT forecast.

The recent survey found 51% of respondents expect contingent hiring to increase in the second quarter, up from 36% who expected an increase in the forecast. Those expecting contingent hiring to stay the same fell to 44% from 54%, and those expecting a decrease fell to 5% from 10%.

For full-time hiring, 45% of respondents now expect an increase, up from 40% in the original forecast. Those expecting full-time hiring to stay the same fell to 46% from 50% and those expecting a decrease edged down to 9% from 10%.

Budget expectation levels remained steady, according to TEKsystems. The first-quarter update found 43% of IT leaders now expect budgets to increase, down for 45% at the end of last year. Those expecting budgets to stay the same rose to 43% from 39%, while those expecting a budget decrease fell to 14% from 16%.

“Similar to last year’s first quarter reality check, most IT leaders are not seeing significant changes in terms of budget expectations, confidence, impact areas or difficulty in securing skill sets as compared to when we entered the year,” said TEKsystems Research Manager Jason Hayman. “But, where we have seen significant change is in the area of contingent hiring — which has seen a major shift towards increased hiring plans. Employment growth was robust in 2014, at least by recent standards, and most signs point to continued growth in 2015.”

TEKsystems, part of the Allegis Group, is the largest IT staffing firm in the United States. The survey included more than 300 IT leaders including CIOs, CTOs and IT vice presidents, as well as IT directors and managers.