Nine percent of chief information officers plan to expand their information technology departments in the second quarter of 2011 and 2 percent plan to cut staff, for a net 7 percent to increase hiring, according to the Robert Half Technology IT hiring index released yesterday by Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI). Eighty-five percent of CFOs planned no changes to their staffs.

The net hiring increase is up from a net 5 percent from last year, but down one point from the first quarter, according to the report.

Eighty percent of CIOs are confident in their company's growth prospects in the next three months, and 73 percent are at least somewhat optimistic their companies will invest in IT projects in the second quarter.

"Companies are recognize that moving ahead with formerly delayed upgrades and implementing new technologies can give them a competitive advantage," said John Reed, executive director of Robert Half Technology. "Firms are investing in projects designed to create business efficiencies and help improve service levels and often need more IT personnel to support these initiatives, particularly if their teams have been understaffed in recent years."

Security and networking professionals are most needed, with each cited as in demand by 13 percent of executives. Applications development and help desk/technical support followed, with 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Network administration remains the skill set in greatest demand, cited by 65 percent of CIOs. Windows administration (Server 2000/2003/2008) ranked second, with 60 percent of the response, followed by desktop support at 57 percent and database management at 52 percent. (CIOs were allowed multiple responses.)

Executives in the South Atlantic region are most optimistic about hiring in the second quarter, with 15 percent planning to add IT staff and 1 percent planning to cut for a net 14 percent -- seven points higher than the national average.

The finance, insurance and real estate industry leads in hiring expectations. Seventeen percent of respondents plan to expand their IT departments and none plan cuts. Technology executives in the wholesale and health services sectors also anticipate strong hiring activity, each forecasting a net 12 percent increase.

The IT Hiring Index and Skills Report is based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs from companies across the United States with 100 or more employees. It was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis.