Twenty-four percent of Atlanta-area technology executives surveyed recently expect to expand their IT teams in the first half of 2016, according to the just-released Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report. This compares to 23 percent in the previous six months and 19 percent a year ago. In addition, 55 percent plan to hire only for open IT roles, 18 percent plan to put hiring plans on hold, and 3 percentexpect to reduce their IT staffing levels in the first six months of the year.

"The technology, healthcare and e-commerce industries are the primary drivers of IT hiring activity locally, with desktop support as the most sought-after skill," said Chris McCrea, Atlanta senior regional vice president of Robert Half Technology. "Companies are also looking for a range of IT talent to help revamp websites and expand their use of cloud computing."

Hiring forecasts are based on interviews with more than 2,500 CIOs from 25 major U.S. markets who were asked to provide a six-month hiring outlook.

Recruiting Challenges & Skills in Demand
Hiring challenges still remain, as 60 percent of CIOs said it's somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals today. They also revealed the skills in greatest demand within their organizations, which include:

• Desktop support (58 percent)

• Database management (49 percent)

• Wireless network management (49 percent)