Seventy percent of chief information officers in the most recent national Robert Half Technology survey said it’s hard to find the IT talent they need, and that’s up five percents points from last quarter.
Demand for IT professionals in South Florida is being driven, in part, by rapid growth in mobile media and big data opportunities, said Matt Bourdeau, regional vice president for Robert Half Technology in South Florida. Hot specialties include database management, network administration and help desk/technical support, mirroring national trends, he said. “It’s a good time to be in IT in South Florida,” Bourdeau said.
Nationally, nearly all CIOs plan to maintain their current IT staffing levels in the third quarter of 2012, according to the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report. Just 5 percent of CIOs interviewed said they expect to expand their IT departments, and 4 percent anticipate cutbacks, for a net 1 percent projected increase in hiring activity.
Looking ahead, 76 percent of CIOs are somewhat or very confident in their companies’ growth prospects in the next three months, compared to 87 percent in the prior quarter, and 86 percent of technology executives expressed confidence that their firms would be making investments in IT projects in the third-quarter, up five points from last quarter.
The survey is conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Robert Half Technology. These results are based on interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs surveyed at companies across the U.S. with 100 or more employees.
Bordeau’s advice to IT job seekers: Remain positive, network and keep an open mind to project or temporary work to get your foot in the door.