Survey: Charlotte firms to expand IT teams in first half of 2016

Charlotte-area firms plan to increase hiring of technology workers in the first half of 2016 as the local job market improves and competition for qualified talent increases.

Thirty percent of Charlotte-area technology executives said they plan to expand their IT teams in the first six months of next year, up from 17 percent who said they planned to do so in the first half of last year, according to a hiring forecast survey from Robert Half Technology.

Fifty-eight percent said they plan to hire only for open IT roles, compared with 66 percent last year. Just 9 percent said they plan to put IT hiring on hold, and 2 percent said they plan to reduce IT staff, the report released Wednesday showed.

Lucy Marino, Charlotte metro market manager of Robert Half Technology, said organizations are increasingly noticing the need to act fast to secure top talent in a tight job market.

“In Charlotte, technology hiring in the financial services industry is particularly strong, and we are helping to fill positions from help desk professionals to web and mobile developers for a variety of companies,” Marino said.

Banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America are vying for the area’s young tech workers, who are often lured by opportunities in Silicon Valley.

Meanwhile, tech firms like Red Ventures and AvidXchange have sprouted up and expanded their presence rapidly in the Charlotte area over the years. At its new NC Music Factory headquarters, AvidXchange has said it plans to create more than 600 new jobs.

At the same time, the area’s tech start-up community is also gaining traction and attracting investors like SierraMaya360.

Robert Half’s forecasts are based on interviews with more than 2,500 chief information officers from 25 major U.S. markets.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Survey: Charlotte firms to expand IT teams in first half of 2016."