First, are they hiring contractors or perm? The former is an indication they don't have confidence in a sustained recovery.

Second, if we're going on anecdotal evidence (practically an oxymoron), I've noticed increased IT hiring, but it seems like much of it is in government or for government, as stimulus money is just now far enough along that some projects are "keyboard ready"; and projects driven by regulatory changes, such as HIPAA (the greatest welfare program for middleware developers ever devised).

Third, I see some hiring from consolidation - companies are sitting on a lot of cash, and using it to acquire smaller firms, either to integrate vertically or to acquire market share. Now is a good time to buy on the cheap.That takes a lot of IT work to bridge systems, implementation work, etc. Its a sign of a weak economy, not a strong one.

Real recovery comes from a return of consumer demand, and IT hiring demand is driven by entirely different forces. The only thing IT hiring is a leading indicator of is headhunter employment.