The IT Employee Confidence Index, a measure of overall confidence among U.S. technology workers, rebounds to 56.8 in the third quarter of 2012, increasing 5.1 points from second quarter of 2012. The recent dip in IT worker confidence recorded last quarter was short-lived, as technology workers' confidence levels registered at the highest level compared to all other sectors tracked by Randstad, including healthcare, finance and accounting, manufacturing, administrative and clerical and engineering. This online survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad Technologies and Technisource, included 212 employees in the technology industry.

"Technology workers were more optimistic about nearly all confidence measures this quarter, including the strength of the economy, the availability of jobs, and overall employability," said Bob Dickey, EVP of Technologies at Randstad U.S. "This is not surprising given the future outlook for this sector, which remains bright and encouraging. In fact, according to a recent TechServe Alliance report, from the first quarter to second quarter of 2012, the unemployment rate for computer hardware engineers went from 4.4 percent to 0.5 percent. Similarly, for software developers, the unemployment rate declined from 3.6 percent to 2.5 percent. These are incredibly low unemployment rates and reflect the market's greater hiring demand for these skill sets. Also contributing to a healthy outlook for this sector is the high demand for cloud computing skills and experience. According to Wanted Analytics, August had more than 10,000 online IT job ads requiring cloud computing training, experience, or knowledge—an increase of 80 percent compared to August 2011. With ongoing technological advancements in cloud computing and others, the IT sector is well-positioned for growth in 2013 and beyond—a sentiment reflected by IT workers' overall confidence measures."

Q3, 2012 Survey Highlights:

IT Worker Confidence in the Economy Rebounds

• Technology professionals' confidence in the overall economy increased 10 percentage points this quarter, with 33 percent believing the economy is getting stronger. The sector appears evenly split in their beliefs about the strength of the economy, with another one-third saying it is staying the same, and 34 percent believing it is getting weaker.

Significantly More IT Workers Believe More Jobs are Available this Quarter

• More than one-quarter (27 percent) of IT workers say more jobs are available this quarter, compared to only 19 percent in second quarter 2012. Less than half (48 percent) of respondents believe that fewer IT jobs are now available.

Tech Workers Remain Optimistic About their Employability

• A full 55 percent of IT workers reported feeling confident in their ability to find a new job—an 11 percentage point increase from the previous quarter. Only 21 percent are not confident in their ability to find a new job this quarter.

IT Workers Still Confident in their Own Job Security

• The majority (69 percent) of IT workers report it is not likely they will lose their job in the next 12 months. A mere 15 percent indicate it will be likely they will lose their job within the next 12 months.

IT Workers Less Hesitant to Job Hunt

• More technology workers are likely to look for new jobs in the next year, with 34 percent indicating so compared to 29 percent last quarter.

To view the latest quarterly trends report, click here.