The new year is ushering in good news for mid-level IT professionals in the market for new jobs. In 2011, the IT job market reversed its downward trend and 2012 is slated for ongoing improvement, reports Carolyn Duffy Marsan at Network World.

Last year, the number of available positions in IT rose 12 percent, according to Dice.com, and in some areas, including New York City and Silicon Valley, there were too few skilled applicants to fill the jobs. In November, the unemployment rate in the tech sector sank to 2.7 percent.

In the first half of this year, 65 percent of IT hiring managers plan to hire, according to a recent Dice.com survey. The majority are in search of IT pros with at least six years of experience. If your organization is paying significantly below the market rate, chances are you may lose some of your IT talent, experts warn. Among the most highly sought-after skills this year are Java, .Net and mobile application development, virtualization, cloud computing, project management and business analytics.

"For IT people who are way underpaid and unhappy, it's the best time I've seen in years for people with IT skill sets to go find their dream jobs," said Matt McGee, vice president of technical staffing services at Pomeroy.

A survey of IT pros in the fall by staffing firm Randstad Technologies backs up the Dice.com findings. A majority wish to examine new job possibilities once the opportunity arises, while 41 percent consider the sluggish economy to blame for faltering careers. These professionals are out ahead of their counterparts in other departments in terms of preparing for a new job by networking.

"It's definitely a candidate's market right now," says Elizabeth Sias, recruiting manager for Randstad. "There are so many opportunities out there. If their company isn't willing to give them the increase they are looking for, they know they can move to another company and get...another $10,000 a year.''

Salary is not the sole criterion IT professionals base their employment decisions on, however. The ability to work with the latest technologies, job flexibility and a stable company are big draws as well.  By the end of 2012, the turnover rate among IT workers could be over 5 percent, according to Pomeroy.

"I haven't seen tons of [poaching] in 2011, but I'm expecting it in 2012," McGee says. "IT budgets are going to be flush at the beginning of next year and companies will need to fill their positions. Smart recruiters are going to call the organizations where they know the people aren't happy."

For more:
- see Carolyn Duffy Marsan's article at Network World

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