CIOs tap brakes on IT hiring in Q3

Chief information officers appear to be tapping the brakes on their hiring plans and may be growing cautious, according to a survey by Robert Half Technology, which places workers full-time and on a contract basis.

The survey reveals some caution, but CIOs aren't slamming the brakes yet. For instance:

• 12 percent of CIOs plan to add staff to their IT departments in the third quarter, down from 14 percent in the second quarter.
• 26 percent are putting IT hiring plans on hold in the third quarter, up from 22 percent in the second quarter.
• 6 percent of CIOs plan to cut staff, up from 2 percent in the second quarter.
• However, 85 percent of CIOs said they were at least somewhat confident about their companies' growth prospects. Sixty three percent of CIOs said they were at least somewhat confident about their companies' plans to invest in IT projects.

That disconnect illustrates the cautious IT spending environment detailed by numerous vendors.

CIOs said they still have recruiting problems when finding people in networking, database management and help desk. Indeed, 55 percent of CIOS said network administration and database management were the skills in the most demand.

Earlier:

Information system jobs go commodity, says report