IT hiring will rise by 13 percent in the first three months of 2008, a slight decrease from the same period a year ago, according the newly-released Robert Half Technology Hiring Index and Skills Report.
Three percent of CIOs surveyed by the IT staffing firm expect to shed IT staff in the coming. The net increase of 10 percent falls just below the 14-percent gain of one year ago, and the 12 percent rise from the last quarter of 2007. More than eight in 10 respondents said they expect staffing levels to remain the same in the first quarter of 2008.
Robert Half Technology surveyed more than 1,400 CIOs from U.S. companies with more than 100 employees.
The firm also compiled the hottest IT skills in demand, as well as which jobs are growing the fastest.
Windows administration remains the most in-demand skill for IT departments, with 74 percent of respondents citing the need. It's down only slightly from the fourth quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of last year.
Network administration, database management and firewall administration took the next three spots, consistent with a year earlier.
Business intelligence will experience the biggest drop off; 30 percent cited it for the coming quarter, down 7 percent from the same period a year ago. Unix administration tapered off 5 percent from a year earlier.
Networking jobs will continue to grow within IT departments more than any other, edging up 3 percent in the first quarter of 2008 from the same period last year.
Most other positions, including applications and Internet/intranet development will hold steady.
But data management will drop off 5 percent over the year, and growth in information security jobs, despite its importance in protecting new applications and devices as well as corporate and customer data, is seen remaining stagnant.
For the Robert Half Technology report, click here.
