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Robert Half survey finds CIOs plan similar hiring in US, more in Canada

December 16, 2015

Almost one-quarter, 22%, of US chief information officers plan to add staff to their IT departments in the first six months of 2016, according to the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report released today. This matched the percentage who said they planned to add IT staff in a previous survey representing the second half of 2015 and is up from 19% in the same survey conducted one year ago.

The survey released today found 63% of CIOs plan to hire only for open IT roles, down from 67% with similar plans for the second half of 2015.

“Organizations have spent the past few years building core technology teams that can keep pace with rapid marketplace changes, resulting in an industry that’s near full-employment,” said John Reed, senior executive director of Robert Half Technology. “Hiring remains steady, and there is particularly strong demand for staff and consultants to complete short-term projects, implementations and upgrades.”

The US IT hiring forecast for the first half of 2016 found:

  • CIOs adding more staff to IT departments: 22%
  • CIOs planning to hire only for open IT roles: 63%
  • CIOs planning to put IT hiring plans on hold: 13%
  • CIOs planning to reduce their IT staff: 2%

Among the US CIOs surveyed, 60% said it’s somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals today. Fifty-seven percent of CIOs surveyed reported desktop is among the skill sets in greatest demand within their IT departments. Database management and network administration were also in demand, according to 55% and 54% of respondents, respectively.

CIOs in Cincinnati, Charlotte, New York and Boston were most optimistic about increasing the size of their teams.

In Canada, 14% of Canadian technology executives plan to add staff to their IT departments in the first six months of 2016, up from 7% who said the same in a survey representing the third and fourth quarters of 2015.

The Canadian IT hiring forecast for the first half of 2016 found:

  • CIOs adding more staff to IT departments: 14%
  • CIOs planning to hire only for open IT roles: 74%
  • CIOs planning to put IT hiring plans on hold: 12%
  • CIOs planning to reduce their IT staff: 0%

“The rapidly evolving need for business technology has put intense pressure on companies to meet digital requirements, especially in data management, information security and cross-platform development,” said Deborah Bottineau, senior regional manager for Robert Half Technology. “Employers need to be prepared with attractive offers and incentives as the competition heats up for skilled IT professionals, moving into the first half of 2016. Meanwhile, job seekers with in-demand skills should anticipate managing multiple offers and have a firm understanding of local hiring trends in order to negotiate salaries and compensation packages decisively.”

The hiring forecasts are based on interviews with more than 2,500 CIOs from 25 major US markets and more than 270 CIOs from Canadian markets who were asked to provide a six-month hiring outlook.