Careers: Tech Pros More 'Realistic' About Jobs In February, Survey FindsCareers: Tech Pros More 'Realistic' About Jobs In February, Survey Finds

Optimism about job security and hiring among tech professionals continued to dip in February, according to a report released Wednesday by professional staffing firm Hudson. Compared to a base score of 100, confidence among IT workers fell 4.4 points in February to a rating of 104.6.

While that rating isn't too pessimistic--especially since there have been months where tech job confidence plunged below 100 over the last two years--techies were less optimistic than the overall workforce in February.

The national index representing workers in all sectors climbed 5.6 points in February, reaching a strong 108.2 rating. Hudson surveys 9,000 workers monthly in industries including accounting and finance, manufacturing, and health care, as well as nearly 450 IT and telecom pros.

Techies last month were less optimistic about employer hiring plans. Only 33% expected their employers to add staff, versus 38% who thought so in January. Also, more techies were worried about job loss last month--28% in February compared to only 22% in early January.

Tech job confidence hit a recent high rating of 115.3 in December, but has been slipping since the beginning of the new year, says Brian Durow, a Hudson regional VP, who isn't overly concerned about the decline. The mood among techies "is coming back to a more realistic situation," he says. "A lot of people had anticipated that 2006 would be a big year for IT hiring, but IT doesn't always open its budget as fast or as big" as some wish, he says. Still, "expectations for significant IT growth are still strong," he says.

In fact, another report released on Wednesday by a staffing firm, Robert Half Technology, showed that 12% of 1,400 CIOs surveyed plan to expand their hiring in the second quarter of 2006. Only 4% plan staff reductions. CIOs at the largest companies surveyed--those with 1,000 or more employees--are the most optimistic about hiring: Twenty-five percent of them expect to add staff in the second quarter. Business growth was the key driver for CIO hiring.

Windows NT administration, end-user technical support, and help-desk staff were the hottest skills being sought by CIOs participating in the Robert Half Technology survey.