CIOs' Q4 Hiring Expected To Be Flat

The firm found that 6 percent of CIOs plan to expand their IT staffs, while 6 percent expect staff cuts and 86 percent will keep their staffs as-is.

The IT Hiring Index and Skills Report findings are based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs, all representing companies with at least 100 employees, according to Robert Half Technology.

"Businesses are cautious about adding employees, especially if they're watching budgets for the remainder of the year," said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology, in a statement. "Companies that are hiring seek candidates with diverse skill sets who can help teams operate with fewer resources. Employers are willing to invest greater time in the recruiting process to find individuals who meet all of their criteria."

Among the study's findings are that the New England and South Atlantic regions are most optimistic about hiring, and that CIOs in the business services sector anticipate the greatest hiring need.

Also, CIOs at large companies, with 1,000 or more employees, are more apt to hire than smaller companies. About 11 percent of large firms plan to add staff, while 7 percent anticipate staff reductions, for a 4 percent net addition, according to Robert Half Technology.

Meanwhile, about 62 percent of CIOs who said they plan to hire in the fourth quarter will hire full-time employees, up from 52 percent in the third quarter.

About 47 percent of CIOs expecting to cut staff in the fourth quarter cited companywide layoffs as the primary reason, while an additional 27 percent said reduced IT budgets are the cause for the staff reductions.

Network administration is the technical skill most in demand, chosen by 69 percent of CIOs. Meanwhile, 64 percent cited desktop support and 61 percent selected Windows administrators as a skill set they wanted.

Networking was also a top choice for actual new hires, garnering 18 percent of the total job growth, along with help desk/technical support. Applications development was cited by 9 percent of the CIOs surveyed.

Geographically, 8 percent of New England-based CIOs expect to hire, while 4 percent expect to cut staff, for a 4 percent net add. For the South Atlantic, 7 percent expect to hire while 3 percent expect to cut for a 4 percent difference as well.

New England CIOs said an increased need for customer support was a key driver for needing new staff, while South Atlantic CIOs cited corporate expansion as the top reason to hire.

Alani Kuye, managing partner of Phantom Data Systems, a Norwalk, Conn.-based solution provider, said similar to some CIOs in his New England region, his company is looking to add staff by the end of the year.

"With budget cuts and major procurements pushed back, we have seen an increased demand for optimization services without major system overhauls, "Kuye said. "Therefore, with service-based demand on the uptick, we hope to add three to five sales engineers by year's end. This will help with strategic positioning in anticipation of the economy stabilizing and ultimately improving over the next four quarters."

Jennifer Bosavage contributed to this article.