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TEKsystems survey: IT hiring plans on rise for full-time employees

November 03, 2015

IT leaders’ plans for hiring full-time employees are on the rise, according to TEKsystems’ quarterly “reality check” survey released today. However, expectations for hiring temporary employees reflect more volatility; coming out of a summertime lull, contingent hiring expectations are now back toward where they were entering into 2015.

The survey compares current market conditions on the state of spending, skill needs and impact areas to those originally reported in the company’s annual IT forecast.

TEKsystems’ quarterly survey in September found 39% planned to increase temporary hiring, up from 29% in a similar survey in June, and 36% in a survey at the beginning of the year. However, in March 51% expected contingent hiring increases.

The survey also found 54% of IT leaders planned to keep temporary hiring the same when asked in September, the same as in the survey at the start of the year. In the June survey, 56% planned to keep temporary hiring the same and in March 44% reported similar plans.

In September, 7% of IT leaders said they planned to decrease temporary staff. This compares to 15% in June, 5% in March and 10% at the start of the year.

“The relative volatility of contingent hiring expectations speaks to the lack of workforce planning — while overall hiring expectations remain healthy, it’s clear that IT leaders do not have the same level of insight into their contingent hiring needs,” said TEKsystems Research Manager Jason Hayman. “They don’t accurately know what they need three weeks from now, let alone three months from now.”

Hayman continued, “That being said, on average, overall expectations for hiring this year are very much in line with the 2014 Reality Check numbers and indicate a measure of consistency and stability. The continued confidence and positive hiring expectations we’ve seen so far this year mirrors the healthier economy and the consistently strong IT job market.”

Other findings in the survey include: 

  • The percentage of IT leaders that expect budget increases at the end of September stood at 45%, the same as at the start of the year. Through the first three quarters of the year, the percentage never rose above 50%.
  • The percentage of IT leaders that express confidence in their department’s ability to satisfy business demands was also at a yearly high of 73% in September, up from 71% at the start of the year. This has remained extremely consistent through the first three quarters of the year, according to TekSystems.
  • Internet of Things entered the top five most impactful trends for organizations for the first time. Throughout 2015, security, mobility, cloud computing and business intelligence/big data have ranked as the top five initiatives with the largest impact on organizations.
  • Programmers and developers, security and software engineers consistently placed in the top-five most difficult positions to fill with exceptional talent throughout 2015.

TEKsystems, part of the Allegis Group, is the largest IT staffing firm in the US. The survey included more than 300 IT leaders — CIOs as well as IT VPs, directors and hiring managers.