Dice Survey Points to Increased IT Hiring Next Year

Career site Dice is ringing in the holidays with a report projecting an increase in IT hiring in 2011.

Based on a Dice survey conducted in November, six in 10 HR managers and tech recruiters expect to bump up their hiring during the first half of 2011, compared with the last half of 2010. Among the companies who plan to hire more IT staffers, 45 percent say they’ll raise hiring by at least 10 percent, one-third are eyeing increases of 11 to 20 percent, and 15 percent are looking to add 21 to 30 percent more tech folks.

Who will IT hiring managers be looking for in 2011? Developers will be in demand, according to the survey, including those with skills in Java, .Net, Web apps, mobile apps, and software in general. Companes will also be on the lookout for project managers, business analysts, business intelligence pros, and SAP (News - Alert) experts. Another need will be for security analysts as businesses will face more threats but lack the necessary staff to deal with them.

Another good sign for IT pros is that 46 percent of the hiring managers say that filling positions is becoming harder and taking more time compared with last year. In 2009, HR folks said that the economy was the No. 1 reason why they couldn’t fill positions. But now the inability to locate qualified staffers is the primary cause for leaving open positions unfilled. This is also likely to force companies to focus more on retention and compensation, says Dice.

Finally, 52 percent of those surveyed say that salaries for existing positions are flat compared with last year, indicating that companies aren’t yet focused on retaining their best and brightest. But 29 percent of the hiring managers say they’re paying higher salaries for new hires compared with 2009.

To compile its report, Dice surveyed HR managers and recruiters from Nov. 8 to Nov. 14. The survey reached almost 850 people, around 55 percent who said they specifically recruit technology pros. Among that group, 38 percent represented companies with more than 500 employees.

Dice joins a slowly growing chorus of other job firms and technology organizations forecasting increased hiring. Certainly, we’ve been disappointed in 2010 as the economy and the job market haven’t rebounded the way the experts projected earlier in the year. And though companies still have reason to be cautious, recent signs do point to better times ahead if the economy can manage to be revived without getting derailed. If the forecasts prove true, IT pros will have something to look forward to in 2011.