8 trends driving IT job growth, salaries

As evidence of the volatility, Foote points to the May 2010 U.S. Department of Labor National Employment Report, which showed a net loss of 100 IT-related jobs in May, following a gain of 8,800 jobs in April. Foote has been tracking ups and downs in employment in five key job categories - IT services, computer systems design, data processing, computer/peripheral equipment, and communications equipment - for the past six months.

"CIOs are saying: 'Half the people who work for me, shouldn't work for me. I can buy the technical services from someone else. If I can get rid of half of my people, then I can hire the architects, analysts and business people that I need to work in product development,'" Foote explains. "The volatility has hit because now CIOs are changing the rules."

1. Expect more churn in IT staff as CIOs accelerate their move to more flexibile staffing models, says Foote Partners. CIOs are outsourcing more technical work, including managed IP services such as VoIP and VPNs. They're hiring more contractors for desktop and security services, and they're putting more applications such as remote backup in the cloud. At the same time, they're looking to hire IT people with business and analytical skills, such as risk management and project management. Indeed, CIOs report that they're having trouble hiring IT people because either they can't find IT professionals with the right business skills or they can't afford them. All of this means more turnover in IT departments.