Dive Brief:
- Demand for tech talent will remain strong this year as leaders contend with skills gaps in critical areas, according to a Robert Half report published Monday. The company surveyed 2,000 U.S. hiring managers for the report.
- Nearly two-thirds of surveyed tech leaders say it is more complex to hire skilled professionals today compared with one year ago. More than 75% said the effects of skills gaps became more evident within their units.
- AI and machine learning top the list of skills where a gap is most prevalent, according to the report. Survey takers also cited IT operations and infrastructure, governance and compliance and cloud architecture as areas of high demand.
Dive Insight:
As IT organizations strive to deliver on modernization goals, access to skills represents a make-or-break component. Just 7% of technology hiring managers said they feel confident in their ability to fill in-demand roles.
To ensure priority projects are completed, 61% of U.S. tech leaders said they plan to add permanent staff this year, while more than half will increase their contract or temporary hiring to fill gaps in the first half of 2026, according to Robert Half’s data.
“As skills gaps continue to widen, employers aren’t standing still,” said Dawn Fay, operational president of Robert Half, in a press release. “Organizations are leaning into a mix of permanent and contract hiring to close critical gaps, stay agile and keep priority initiatives moving forward.”
Training is another tool companies are turning to as AI redefines roles and processes. Almost two-thirds of surveyed tech leaders said they need to upskill their current teams in response to talent gaps.
But the outlook for tech talent demand remains complex, with aspirations for hiring clashing against indicators of a contracting tech job market as seen in official labor data. January marked the third consecutive month of cuts in tech employment across economic sectors, according to CompTIA data.
“The tech employment story remains lukewarm as employers continue navigating uncertainty on multiple fronts,” said Seth Robinson, VP of industry research at CompTIA, in an email to CIO Dive. “While the overall economic picture is stabilizing somewhat and driving some positive movement in core competency job role growth, the technical structure may lag as companies determine where to focus their digital transformation efforts.”
