A survey of hiring trends in the Dallas-Fort Worth area indicates a sharp increase in information technology workers in the first half of next year. The survey, the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report for Dallas, shows that 27 percent of Dallas and Fort Worth-area chief information officers (CIOs) surveyed recently plan to expand their IT teams in the first half of 2015. This is up 17 points compared to projections from the previous six-month period (July – December 2014). Another 61 percent plan to hire only for open IT roles, 7 percent plan to put hiring plans on hold, and 4 percent expect to reduce their IT staff in the first half of the year.
“The demand for skilled IT talent in Dallas is strong, and unemployment levels for these professionals continue to fall, which has created a tight candidate market in the IT space,” said Nicole Sims, Dallas regional vice president of Robert Half Technology. “Web and database developers are in high demand, especially among healthcare and professional services companies, as well as financial institutions.” Sixty-nine percent of Dallas technology executives surveyed said that network administration is among the skill sets in greatest demand within their IT departments. Wireless network management and telecommunications followed with, 67 percent and 61 percent of the response, respectively. In terms of recruiting, 62 percent of Dallas CIOs said it’s somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals. Software development is a key skill set that is difficult to recruit (18 percent), followed by help desk/technical support (14 percent) and applications development (13 percent).
The survey results suggest that Dallas CIOs are optimistic about their companies’ growth prospect. Eighty-eight percent of CIOs reported being somewhat or very confident in their companies’ prospects for growth in the first half of the year. This is unchanged from the second half of 2014.
The 2015 hiring projections are based on interviews with 100 CIOs who were asked to provide a six-month hiring outlook. The surveys were developed by Robert Half Technology and conducted by an independent research firm. Robert Half Technology is a provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis and has been tracking IT hiring activity in the United States since 1995.