The second quarter of 2007 was the best for IT
job-seekers for several years, with double-digit growth in the
full-time and freelance jobs markets. The number of permanent
advertised jobs was up 13% on the same period in 2006, and there
were 18% more contract positions on offer, according to the
Computer Weekly Survey of Appointments Data and Trends compiled by
Salary Services Limited (SSL).
"We are seeing a continuingly buoyant market in all respects,"
says Paul Smith, development director at recruitment firm Harvey
Nash Group.
The money on offer to job-seekers also increased. Salaries for
permanent staff rose by 2.6% on average. This does not sound much,
but it is the first time that a rise above 2% has been recorded in
five quarters. This salary increase is remarkably constant across
all 55 job positions surveyed.
Average rates offered to freelancers also increased by 2.6%, the
same amount as in the first quarter. Here, some professionals did
fare better than others. The average rate for
systems analysts rose by 8% - from £38 per hour to £41 - and
for
programmers by 19% - from £31 to £37.
The average increases are just above the government's
Consumer
Price Index inflation rate figure of 2.4%, although they do not
match average wage inflation across all industries of between 4%
and 5%.
The increase in advertised jobs was not uniform across the whole
economy. The finance sector is booming, but the manufacturing
industry is recruiting fewer people than a year ago.
What is not apparent from the SSL figures is a relative decline
in recruitment by the larger corporations. "Medium companies and
their IT departments are experiencing much more growth," Smith
says.
Permanent staff
In the permanent IT jobs market, it is the rise in demand for PC
support staff that is most notable, as this has been a relatively
depressed area for several years. Jobs advertisements here were up
by nearly 50% on a year ago.
Demand for technical support staff was also up - by about 33% -
and there was an increase in advertising for management positions.
The number of positions advertised for development and systems
staff rose by less than the average. All of this suggests that IT
departments are consolidating after a period of development new
systems are in place, and the emphasis is now on getting them to
work effectively.
Geographically, demand for permanent staff rose most in central
London, which was the only area to show double-digit growth. Outer
London and the South also showed gains, and these three areas
accounted for nearly 66% of all permanent jobs on offer.
The West Midlands, North West, Scotland and Northern Ireland
missed out on the market upturn, with the number of permanent jobs
on offer down by about 15% on a year ago.
Growth in London is fuelled by the finance industry, which the
fastest-growing sector for IT jobs, with the number advertised up
by 25%.
The public sector is continuing to recruit permanent staff,
despite the maturing of the NHS IT programme and several other
major projects. All other industry sectors showed some growth,
except manufacturing, which was slightly down on a year ago.
All of these figures relate to job advertising on the web. IT
advertising in newspapers and magazines continues to decline, and
was down by more than a third on the second quarter of last year.
It is now at its lowest level since the end of 2004.
Contractors
In the contract market, the fact that there was a rise at all is
significant, as there had been a decline in the first quarter. A
rise as high as 18% is very encouraging.
A close examination of the figures shows that the freelance
market differs significantly from the permanent jobs market in some
respects. Development positions increased by more than twice the
average, as did those for database specialists, but demand for PC
support and technical support personnel rose by less than the
average.
Geographically, demand for contractors rose most in Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland. Freelance positions in these areas
were up by more than half as much again as a year ago. Contract
positions in London were up by 25%, following a significant decline
in the first quarter of 2007. All areas showed a rise in contract
positions on the same period in 2006.
However, several industry sectors rose by less than a year ago.
They included the public sector, where demand was down by 19%. This
is a sign of a return to stability after the frenetic activity in
several large government contracts over the past few years.
The manufacturing industry slashed recruitment of contractors by
an even great amount, almost 25%, and this was mirrored in the
electronics and communications sector.
Once again it was the finance houses that provided the biggest
growth, with demand up by more than 50% on a year ago.
Skills
As far as in-demand skills go, the picture is generally static.
The top 14 skills in the second quarter are the same as in the
first quarter, and there were only two positional changes: a
decline for C++, explained by a transfer of demand to C#, and a
rise for SQL Server.
Comparing this year's positions with those of a year ago
illustrates the trend of an increasing preference for Microsoft
development methodology at the expense of Java, with both steadily
displacing the Unix client-server choice of the late 1990s.
"Our development used to be 50-50 Microsoft and Java, now it is
70% Microsoft. That change has happened over 18 months," Smith
says.
This change is made apparent in the league table by the growth
in demand for
SQL Server. This quarter it has risen above
Oracle for the first time and is now in its highest-ever
position of fifth. The next two positions are occupied by C# and
.net, and all three are showing well above average growth of 25% on
a year ago, as is ASP.
In contrast, demand for Java rose by 4%, and there was 1% less
advertising for J2EE experience than a year ago.
The requirement for Unix skills fell by 13%, and by 16% for the
most popular of the proprietary versions, Solaris. Interest in
Linux increased slightly. The traditional Unix software packages
are also falling away. Demand for Oracle rose, but by less than the
average, and interest in Sybase fell 16%.
These figures paint a picture of a swing away from Unix, with
some users migrating to open source but a larger number opting for
the Microsoft alternative.
how the survey is conducted
This article is based on information from the Computer
Weekly/SSL Quarterly Survey of Appointments Data and Trends.
The survey analyses ads for IT professionals on the web, in the
trade press, and the quality national dailies and Sundays. It is
intended primarily for recruitment agencies and CIOs with a
substantial recruitment requirement.
The posts are broken down into 55 categories, which include
details of the number of posts advertised and the average and
median national salaries offered for the past five quarters.
The survey provides further analyses within each job category by
platform type, industry sector and regional location. It also gives
a breakdown of the technical skills most in demand.
The survey costs £250 per issue or £350 for an annual
subscription. This covers four issues, and includes a free software
program, which allows selection of combinations of region, industry
and software skills for specified job types. You can order it at
www.salaryservices.co.uk.
