DETROIT — Twenty percent of surveyed Detroit-area technology executives plan to expand their IT teams in the first half of 2016, according to the just-released Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report.
That’s down a bit from 23 percent in the previous six months, covering July to December 2015, but up from the year-earlier figure, 18 percent, covering January to June 2015.
The latest survey showed that only 1 percent of IT executives plan layoffs to reduce their IT staffs, unchanged from both six months and a year ago.
In the survey, another 58 percent said they will fill only open IT jobs, down from 61 percent six months ago and 71 percent a year ago.
“Detroit-area IT hiring is being driven by companies that are designing, developing, testing, customizing, maintaining and upgrading their internal applications to maintain efficient operations,” said Jeremy Brodsky, Detroit branch manager of Robert Half Technology. “In addition, software companies and managed service providers, as well as marketing and digital agencies, are often bringing in added technology staff to help them meet increased client demands. As the market becomes increasingly competitive for top tech talent, companies are fast-tracking hiring decisions and opting to invest in further on-the-job training in order to compete.”
Hiring forecasts are based on interviews with more than 2,500 CIOs from 25 major U.S. markets who were asked to provide a six-month hiring outlook.
Hiring challenges still remain, as 57 percent of CIOs said it’s somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals today. They also revealed the skills in greatest demand within their organizations, which include:
* Desktop support (56 percent)
* Database management (53 percent)
* Network administration (51 percent)
The survey was developed by Robert Half Technology and conducted by an independent research firm. To ensure that companies from all segments were represented in the study, the sample was stratified by number of employees. The results were weighted to reflect the appropriate employee population in the United States. The margin of error is plus or minus 1.6 percent at the 90 percent confidence level.
More at www.rht.com.
Nationally, 22 percent of IT executives plan to add staff in the first half of 2016, unchanged from the final six months of 2015 and up from 19 percent in the first half of 2015. Only 2 percent plan layoffs, unchanged from the final six months of 2015 and down from 3 percent in the first half of 2015.
Nationally, hot spot markets for IT hiring were Cincinnati, Charlotte, N.C., New York City and Boston.
