Nineteen percent of US chief information officers plan to add staff to their IT departments in the first six months of 2015, according to the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report released today. That compares with 14 percent who said they planned to add IT staff in a previous survey representing the third and fourth quarters of 2014.

Sixty-eight percent of CIOs plan to hire only for open IT roles, down from 76 percent with similar plans for the second half of 2014.

“The first half of 2015 will remain a highly competitive hiring market as IT departments expand their teams to address the three drivers for tech employment: mobile, big data and security,” said John Reed, senior executive director of Robert Half Technology. “Companies recruiting for workers in software development, security and networking may find it especially challenging to recruit skilled talent.”

The US IT hiring forecast for the first half of 2015 found:

• CIOs adding more staff to IT departments: 19 percent
• CIOs planning to hire only for open IT roles: 68 percent
• CIOs planning to put IT hiring plans on hold: 10 percent
• CIOs planning to reduce their IT staff: 3 percent
• CIOs who don’t know future hiring plans: 1 percent

Among the US CIOs surveyed, 67 percent said it’s somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals today. Twenty percent said it is most difficult to find skilled talent in software development. Similarly, it was also dificult to find skilled talent in security and networking areas, according to 15 percent and 14 percent of CIOs.

Sixty-three percent of US technology executives surveyed said that network administration is among the skill sets in greatest demand within their IT departments. Desktop support and windows administration were also in demand, according to 61 percent and 57 percent of respondants.

In Canada, 17 percent of Canadian chief information officers plan to add staff to their IT departments in the first six months of 2015, up from 14 percent who said the same in a survey representing the third and fourth quarters of 2014.

The Canadian IT hiring forecast for the first half of 2015 found:

• CIOs adding more staff to IT departments: 17 percent
• CIOs planning to hire only for open IT roles: 67 percent
• CIOs planning to put IT hiring plans on hold: 12 percent
• CIOs planning to reduce their IT staff: 3 percent
• CIOs who don’t know future hiring plans: 1 percent

“The current competitive hiring environment will continue into the first half of 2015 as the supply of highly skilled technology professionals remains below demand,” said Deborah Bottineau, senior regional manager of Robert Half Technology. “Mobile, big data and security are the key areas driving hiring as IT departments expand in these areas. Companies with current openings in the areas of desktop support, wireless network management and Windows administration should consider acting with urgency to secure top talent as these skills are among those in greatest demand.”

The hiring forecasts for the last half of 2014 and the first six months of 2015 are based on interviews with more than 2,400 CIOs from 24 major US markets and more than 270 CIOs from major Canadian markets who were asked to provide a six-month hiring outlook.