CHICAGO - Almost every leading tech firm says it will hire new employees in 2005, according to an annual survey of chief executives by a major consulting firm.

Deloitte & Touche, in its 2005 CEO Survey of the fastest growing technology companies in North America, found 95% of tech CEOs plan to hire more workers this year.

The survey was administered to CEOs of companies ranked on Deloitte's listing of the 500 fastest growing technology companies. Nearly 150 CEOs responded to the survey, conducted earlier this quarter.

Of the 95% of CEOs who say they are hiring, 42% plan to add at least 25% more employees in the next 12 months, and 19% plan to add more than 50%.

More CEOs are convinced that 2005 will bring better times. A total of 36% of respondents predicted higher growth in 2005, compared to 21% last year (results may not correlate due to differences in reporting). And almost 75% of the CEOs surveyed were "extremely" or "very" confident about their companies' future growth.

The top challenge for growth is bringing new products to market, said more than one-quarter of the respondents. Other ranking issues are pricing pressure and building strategic relationships.

Tech CEOs feel government initiatives aren't called for to promote growth over the next 12 months, the survey found.

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