Des Moines CIOs Reveal Hiring Plans For Second Half Of 2014

DES MOINES, Iowa, June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The just-released Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report for Des Moines shows that 14 percent of Des Moines-area chief information officers (CIOs) surveyed recently plan to expand their IT teams in the second half of 2014. Another 82 percent plan to hire only for open IT roles, 4 percent plan to put hiring plans on hold, and 1 percent expect to reduce their IT staff in the second half of the year. This is the first time the survey has been conducted in the greater metropolitan Des Moines area.

"Demand for web developers continues to dominate the Des Moines IT job market – specifically those with expertise in C#, Java and PHP," said Stacey Singleton, Des Moines regional vice president of Robert Half Technology. "Popular development practices, such as Agile methodology, are driving the need for candidates who possess strong soft skills in addition to first-rate technical skills. We continue to see robust demand in the healthcare, agriculture and insurance-related industries."

The 2014 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. In order to ensure that companies from all segments were represented, the sample was stratified by number of employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper number of employees in the greater metropolitan Des Moines area. Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis and has been tracking IT hiring activity in the United States since 1995.

Recruiting Challenges
In terms of recruiting, 67 percent of Des Moines CIOs said it's somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals today. It is most challenging to find skilled talent in the functional areas of networking (22 percent), applications development (15 percent) and software development (15 percent).

Confidence in Business Growth and IT Investments
The survey results suggest that Des Moines CIOs are optimistic about their companies' growth and IT investments. Ninety-three percent of CIOs reported being somewhat or very confident in their companies' prospects for growth in the second half of 2014. Seventy-seven percent of CIOs also said they are confident that their firms will invest in IT projects in the second half of 2014.

Skills in Demand
Sixty-one percent of Des Moines technology executives surveyed said that both network administration and database management are among the skill sets in greatest demand within their IT departments. Desktop support followed with 54 percent of the response.

About Robert Half Technology
With more than 100 locations worldwide, Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. Robert Half Technology offers online job search services at rht.com. Follow Robert Half Technology at twitter.com/RobertHalfTech or visit our technology blog at blog.rht.com.

SOURCE Robert Half Technology