IT hiring rises where it counts

Companies that use technology are bullish about the economy and, as a result, are hiring more IT staffers

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Hiring at companies that are mostly users of technology, not vendors, is on the rise, according to research firm Computer Economics.

In a survey of 200 mid-to-large size firms, more than half - 52% -- said they are hiring full-time IT staff this year. Of these U.S. and Canadian firms, 17% are decreasing staff, and 31% report no change.

This is the first time in many years that more than half of the firms surveyed by the research organization have indicated plans to add personnel, and not shrink or hold staffing levels flat.

Last year, 44% of the companies surveyed said they were adding staff; in 2012, that figure was 40%; and in 2011, it was just 33%.

This hiring "signifies that companies feel confident enough about the future that they are willing to bring on IT employees," John Longwell, the firm's vice president of research, said in an interview.

Computer Economics surveys healthcare, retail, banking and firms in other vertical industries. While it may include some tech companies in the survey, it does not survey the big IT firms such as Hewlett-Packard, which has been laying off workers.

The findings by Computer Economics get some backing in the most recent U.S. employment reports.

In May, the U.S. added 217,000 new jobs, and of that number 15,600 were IT jobs, according to an analysis by Foote Partners. That continues a trend. In February, March and April a total of 38,100 new IT jobs were added in the U.S.

"The good news is that lately we've noticed more IT hiring across many industries, not just the IT services firms," David Foote, chief analyst at Foote Partners, said in his report.

This turnabout in hiring follows a slow down late last year.

"I think employers are becoming more confident about the role of technology and the people who design, build and manage tech-enabled business solutions," said Foote.

Patrick Thibodeau covers cloud computing and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov or subscribe to Patrick's RSS feed . His e-mail address is pthibodeau@computerworld.com.

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