RHI has been saying today and in the past saying that IT hasn't taken a major hit throughout the recession and would have everyone believe that everything is A-Ok. However they aren't an impartial observer, they are an active player in the employment game. Saying anything negative about their business would be counter productive. The Reg would be better off polling those who are in the market rather than echo the propaganda of those who are trying to control it.

Will IT employment get better in '09? Hard to say without real information. Employment is only half the story though, the quality of IT jobs is also at stake.

I'm certainly guessing IT staffing won't be cut -- most businesses have already cut IT to the bone, to the point that the IT people they do have are burning out and leaving the industry. Also, they simply must realize, if they cut spending on new hardware, they can save money, but... 1) On the desktop side, the failure rate will probably increase and they'll need a little "extra" staff time to get these switched out in a timely manner. 2) As machines move down the obsolescence scale it'll also take skilled admins with extra time to keep things tweaked for speed (or the machines will become unusable well before their time.)

While the business model of RHT does rely on the filling of open positions in a variety of companies, they don't do themselves any favors by overstating the demand. And while some polling numbers might be able to sway the perception of something, I don't see a CIO looking at these figures, and thinking, "Gee, everyone else is staying steady, I guess that 10% reduction in force I was planning should be shelved." That's just not the case, as the CIO's decisions are driven solely by the other executives in the company and the business model and forecasts. The only CIOs and companies this survey might impact are those who were on the cusp of looking for new staff, but weren't sure. This might indicate that good help might come at a premium and not be worth it, or it might mean some talent will be available since some people are going to get laid off. It's a glass half-full or half-empty type moment.

In all, I would say that the IT market is better than other fields, only in that IT was still recovering in the US from the shellacking they got after the tech bubble burst and the outsourcing of back-end and coding work to India, so it was already pared to the bone. On-site support, however, can't be outsourced, and it seems that's what RHT focuses on, and that's borne out by the results of what CIOs say they are hiring for. I would stay away from the CIOs that are hiring and don't know why....

Good people are now available from companies that have closed down completely. Some of the surviving places are hiring from this pool, while at the same time getting rid of some of their less desirable employees.

So even if headcount stays constant, that doesn't mean no one is being let go.