Are happy days here again? We may not have escaped all the doom and gloom of 2001, but things are beginning to look up, at least when it comes to IT jobs. A recent report from RHI Consulting (www.rhic.com) shows that 95 percent of companies surveyed believe they will be able to maintain their current staff size or increase it during the second quarter of 2002.
While most of that 95 percent is, admittedly, simply sticking with the status quo, thats still an encouraging sign in the aftermath of a dismal 2001 and the effects of September 11 on American business. In fact, 14 percent of the IT executives surveyed actually believe they will be increasing the size of their department.
Businesses remain cautious in their hiring efforts, said Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of RHI. Companies are primarily focused on technology issues that offer bottom-line benefits, such as improved operational efficiencies, reduced spending over the long term, or increased productivity.
Scott Huiras, vice president of information technology for Secura Insurance Companies (www.secura.net), says those numbers dont really surprise him. The insurance industry tends to be intense in the IT area because we are so information dependent, he said. With many insurers moving away from legacy systems to become more Web oriented, theyre finding it necessary to maintain or increase staff size.
Insurance companies are normally buffered from the ups and downs of the economy more than manufacturing or retail businesses. Financial factors dont affect insurance as much, he said. People and businesses still need insurance.
The effects of September 11 have caused a hardening of the insurance market, Huiras said, meaning higher premiums for the same risk. I would expect the profit picture for insurers to improve, he said.
But he doesnt expect much change in the staffing at Wisconsin-based Secura. Were trying to make our system more homogenous, he said. I would like to have fewer people to maintain the system and more to enhance it. ROBERT REGIS HYLE
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