Robert Half Staffs Area IT
According to research by Robert Half Technology, a temporary staffing and consulting firm with a location in Fayetteville, information technology hiring gains are expected to grow in the third quarter.
Robert Half Technology is a subsidiary of Robert Half International, which has specialized staffing services for the legal, accounting and finance professions.
In the region the company calls West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas), RHT reported that 21 percent of the 1,400 chief information officers surveyed plan to expand their IT departments, while 3 percent plan to make reductions, leading to a speculative net 18 percent hiring increase for that quarter.
Other key findings said: business growth is the main reason for adding IT staff; Microsoft Windows administration is the hottest skill set needed in IT departments; and executives in the finance, insurance and real estate industry are most optimistic about hiring activity.
Tami Goodman, branch manager of RHI in Fayetteville, said IT hiring out of her office is definitely on the upswing.
“Right now, our market is blazing hot,” she said.
Area skill sets being sought also include Web development and .NET programming, Goodman said.
Area sectors hiring the most IT professionals are retail and companies supporting retail, property management, logistics and high-tech consulting, she said.
The office has placed about 50 to 60 IT professionals since the first of the year.