Detroit CIOs Reveal Robust 2014 Hiring Plans

DETROIT (WWJ) -- Robert Half Technology Tuesday released its IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report for Detroit.

The survey showed that 12 percent of Detroit-area chief information officers plan to expand their IT teams in the first half of 2014.

That's up 2 percentage points from the 10 percent projection from the prior six-month period, June to December of 2013.

Another 68 percent plan to hire only for open IT roles and 17 percent said their hiring plans were on hold. Only 3 percent expect to reduce their IT staff in the first six months of the year.

For the previous six months, 63 percent said the planned to hire only for open positions, 20 percent planned to put hiring plans on hold, and 6 percent planned to add staff.

"The new year often brings new projects, and as a result, companies may be looking to grow their core IT teams at this time of year," said Stacey Singleton, Detroit regional vice president of Robert Half Technology. "We anticipate that web developers, system administrators and help desk professionals will continue to be in high demand in the next few months, especially in the manufacturing and healthcare sectors."

The 2014 hiring projections are based on interviews with 100 CIOs who were asked to provide a six-month hiring outlook. The 2013 projections are based on an average of two separate CIO surveys conducted in the second and third quarters of 2013.

In each of these surveys, 100 CIOs were asked about their hiring plans for the next three months. The surveys were developed by Robert Half Technology and conducted by an independent research firm.

In order to ensure that companies from all segments were represented, the sample was stratified by number of employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper number of employees in the metropolitan Detroit area.

Robert Half Technology is a provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis and has been tracking IT hiring activity in the United States since 1995.

In terms of recruiting, 67 percent of Detroit CIOs said it's somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals today. It is most challenging to find skilled talent in the functional areas of networking (21 percent), help desk/technical support (21 percent) and security (13 percent).

The survey results suggest that Detroit CIOs are optimistic about their companies' growth and IT investments. Ninety-two percent of CIOs reported being somewhat or very confident in their companies' prospects for growth in the first six months of 2014. This compares to 87 percent in the last half of 2013.

Seventy-six percent of CIOs also said they are confident that their firms will invest in IT projects in the first half of 2014. This compares to 64 percent in the last six months of 2013.

Sixty-six percent of Detroit technology executives surveyed said that network administration is among the skill sets in greatest demand within their IT departments. Windows administration and desktop support followed, with 54 percent and 51 percent of the response, respectively.

More at www.rht.com