Surprisingly, the faltering economy hasn't given IT leaders much help in finding talented technology pros, according to the results of a recent study by recruitment firm Robert Half Technology. A full 77% of CIOs polled said it is equally or more challenging to find skilled candidates than it was a year ago.

“Despite economic uncertainty and a more competitive job market, there are still talent shortages in certain IT specialties, such as applications development, Web development and network administration,” says Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology. “Employers are struggling to find the most qualified candidates and some are more willing to negotiate higher compensation to get them on board.”

Robert Half Technology polled 1,400 CIOs, asking them if it was more or less challenging to find qualified candidates for IT jobs within your firm now compared to 12 months ago. According to the results, 10% said it is much more challenging, 12% said it somewhat more challenging, and 55% said it is just as difficult. Another 9% viewed it as somewhat less challenging, 7% much less challenging, and 7% don’t know or didn’t answer.

Why the struggle? More than half of respondents (52%) attribute recruiting challenges to a shortage of qualified workers. Another 28% said it is the inability to offer creative compensation, while another 10% said it is the inability to offer career advancement potential.

Amy Schurr is the former managing features editor of Network World.