OnForce: Improving economy might not be helping IT industry
The improving U.S. economy might actually have a bittersweet tinge to it for the IT industry, according to a new report from OnForce.
The IT specialist outsourcing company found that at least half of the IT professionals surveyed for its latest Confidence Index report admitted that current economic conditions are having a negative impact on their business.
OnForce CEO Peter Cannone explained in the report that the side effects are really hitting freelance IT specialists in a number of different ways:
Wall Street’s economic barometers report an improving economy, but for techs in the field, things look a little different. The sharp rise in gas prices is an immediate, direct and hard-hitting blow to independent field technicians on the road.
Q1 is also historically the slowest quarter of the year for tech projects – especially in the retail sector. And the high national unemployment rate is showing clear signs of a jobless recovery in the U.S.
For reference, the quarterly OnForce Confidence Index is based upon the responses from more than 600 technology professionals nationwide who derive a substantial portion of their income from contract-based IT projects, including cloud computing, networking and vertical applications.
Despite the pessimism, OnForce researchers found that many IT contractors still expect conditions to improve within the next six months.
UPDATE: The report is available online now.
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