The jump from 61% planning headcount growth earlier in the year to 78% now is significant, and 66% also plan to bring in more contractors. The demand signal is real. The supply side is the problem: 65% of tech leaders say finding skilled talent is harder than a year ago, and 71% report that skills gaps caused project delays in the past 12 months — with 49% saying projects were canceled entirely. Hiring intent and actual hiring velocity are different things. The gap between those two numbers is where a lot of H2 planning quietly collapses.