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Survey: Economy Drags IT Confidence

October 14, 2011

Confidence among information technology leaders fell for the third quarter this year, while IT executives report economic conditions have left their companies understaffed, according to the fourth quarter CompTIA IT industry business confidence index, released this week.

The overall business confidence index fell by 1.0 point to 51.9. Although still in net positive territory (a measure greater than 50 indicates positive results) this marks the third consecutive quarterly decline in the confidence index this year.

Looking ahead, the IT industry executives predict a 1.9 point gain in the index in the first quarter of 2012. “This modest gain is lower than previous outlooks, which typically exceeded five points,” said Tim Herbert, vice president of research at CompTIA. “It’s yet another sign of dimming confidence in a short-term fix to a shaky world economy.”

More than half, or 54 percent, of IT firms are understaffed by 5 percent or more. Another 22 percent of firms say they are fully staffed, but would like to hire more workers to expand their business. Nearly a third of companies — 32 percent — have postponed or canceled projects due to staffing shortages.

The index is based on an online survey of IT industry executives and professionals conducted in late September and early October 2011. A total of 427 IT companies participated in the survey.