IT Job Seekers Should Go West

IT professionals seeking work have the best chance of finding jobs on the West Coast, according to Robert Half Technology, an employment services company.

Nationally, 16 percent of CIOs plan to hire staff in the fourth quarter this year, the highest net increase since the third quarter of 2002, according to the “Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report.”

The West Coast is expected to produce the most new jobs, with 21 percent of CIOs there saying they plan to add new workers. A close second is the mid-Atlantic region; 20 percent of CIOs in that region plan to hire new workers. New England and the Mountain States offer the fewest opportunities.

Business growth is the biggest factor driving hiring, with 36 percent of CIOs surveyed citing it as the reason they are adding staff.

Companies in finance, insurance and real estate are likely to be the most aggressive employers during the quarter. Networking professionals, Web and applications developers, database administrators, and software engineers are in the greatest demand.

By Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service