IT Staffing Report: April 10, 2014

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IT hiring less than predicted in Q1, report says

Full-time and contingent IT hiring fell short of predictions in the first quarter. Just 35 percent of IT leaders indicated hiring increased in the first quarter for full-time IT staff and contingents, according to survey results from TEKsystems. However, 47 percent forecast hiring of full time workers would rise in Q1 when questioned for TEKsystems’ annual IT forecast in November, and 46 percent forecast increased contingent IT worker hiring.

This may be related to the number of IT leaders that did not receive their expected budget increases, leading to a stall in hiring efforts, according to TEKsystems. The first-quarter update survey found only 47 percent of IT leaders reported budget increases while 62 percent had expected increases at the end of last year.

Decreases in full-time IT staffing in the first quarter matched expectations. The November survey found 9 percent of IT leaders expected decrease. Those saying full-time IT hiring was flat in the first quarter was 56 percent; while only just 44 percent predicted flat hiring when questions at the end of last year.

In regards to contingent IT hiring, the 11 percent predicting increases prior to the start of the first quarter matched the 11 percent when asked about actual hiring in the first quarter. At the end of last year, 43 percent forecast contingent IT Hiring to remain flat, but 54 percent said IT hiring was flat when asked after Q1.

“Our Annual IT Forecast represents views for the entire year of 2014, so it’s interesting to see how close reality is tracking to those expectations as we exit the first quarter. To date, it appears that budget optimism was a little overstated and it has impacted initial hiring,” said TEKsystems Research Manager Jason Hayman. “As IT leaders continue to see how well their IT department can satisfy their organization’s business needs, it will be interesting to see how conditions continue to develop, either falling in line with or skewing further away from expectations, and how organizations will adapt to realities throughout the course of the year.”

TEKsystems, part of the Allegis Group, is the largest IT staffing firm in the United States. The survey included 244 IT leaders including CIOs, CTOs and IT vice presidents, as well as IT directors and managers.