First Half IT Hiring is Healthy
A hiring survey conducted by Management Recruiters International Inc. (Cleveland), a subsidiary of CDI Corp., shows burgeoning job market within the IT industry as companies increased hiring projections for the first six months of 1999.
Overall, 71.6 percent of executives responsible for hiring in the information technology industry planned to increase staffs over the first half of 1999, a 0.5 percent increase from the second half of 1998. Another 21.4 percent plan to maintain their current staff sizes, down by 1.3 percent in the second half of 1998, and 7.0 percent plan decreases, up by only 0.8 percent.
In comparison, results showed the rest of the job market was not as healthy as the IT industry. Of the 5,606 executives polled for all industries, the national average for projected new hires is 53.2 percent, while 38.4 percent plan to maintain their current staff sizes, and 8.4 percent plan to reduce staff sizes.
“Constant and increasing demand for high-technology systems and the approaching Y2K deadline are keeping competition for IT candidates at cut-throat levels. Companies are tapping all of their competitive resources to attract the people they need -- and bending over backward to keep them,” says MRI President and CEO Allen Salikof.
--J. Martin