'IT budgets are growing, and that's backed up by data in survey,' said Bob Miano, president of Harvey Nash, a global recruitment company and provider of human capital management, outsourcing and consulting services. 'And a lot of hiring is going on in the IT industry. When you increase budgets, you do more hiring.'

According to the survey, a quarter of the CIOs and IT executives polled reported an increase in IT budgets of between 10 percent and 20 percent, while 13 percent expect budgets to rise by more than 20 percent.

'IT spending limited by recession has led to pent-up demand for operational improvements that's now being released,' according to the Nash survey.

In addition, with spending on regulatory requirements such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act behind them, many CIOs indicated that their companies once again feel that they can afford to invest more in technology, according to the Nash survey.

Miano said one of the responses he wasn't prepared for was how satisfied CIOs are with their jobs.