(July 28, 2005 - www.globalsourcingnow.com) - According to a study by Gartner, 63 percent of companies in the financial services industry plan to add IT staff over the next 12 months, a greater percentage than in any other sector. The sector is expected to be followed closely by the government sector, with 62 percent of US public, nonprofit organizations planning to grow their technology headcount.

The survey revealed that two-thirds of the 160 organizations surveyed in March 2005, projected some level of increase in their IT staffing. However, the pace of hiring will be moderate.

The most difficult positions to fill are those for IT project managers, Web applications programmers, computer security analysts, database administrators and network engineers, respondents said. The most sought-after skills include experience with PeopleSoft, Oracle and SAP systems.

Lily Mok, senior consultant with Gartner, said that with recruiting on the rebound, companies that want to retain technical workers should evaluate their retention programs. The report noted that companies are now seeing more IT workers leave voluntarily than they did a year ago.

The survey indicated that companies increased the average base salary of IT staff in 2005 by 3.5 percent, which is 0.3 percent higher than last year. Many also increased bonus payments and other variable compensation.

Reported by ZD Net India News