The Technisource information technology employee confidence index rose to a reading of 52.0 in the fourth quarter from a reading of 47.3 in the third quarter as IT professionals perceived more jobs to be available.

Eighteen percent of IT professionals believe more IT jobs are now available, up seven percentage points from the third-quarter, according to the index’s survey.

In addition, 22 percent believe the economy is getting stronger, up nine percentage points from the third quarter.

“With the demand for IT professionals steadily increasing, I am pleased to see that confidence amongst U.S. IT workers is rising once again,” said Andrew Speer, president of technology solutions for Technisource. “While our survey showed no change in the number of tech professionals looking to actively seek out new employment, it is still one third of the workforce keeping their eyes open and it remains critical to focus on your current IT teams in order to mitigate unnecessary hiring and re-training costs."

The survey was done by Harris Interactive for Technisource, a provider of IT staffing and a division of Randstad Holding NV. The survey included responses from 246 workers employed in the information technology field.