Thenorth-south pay divideis narrowing
for IT professionals after wages grew 29.7% faster in the north
than in London in 2007.
Salaries grew by 4.8% in the north of England last year, while
growth in the capital was limited to 3.7%. IT workers in the north
currently earn 69% of London wages.
Northern IT workers now earn an average of £30,333 a year,
compared with £44,200 in London.
The figures from Rethink Recruitment showed IT is bucking the
national trend for all occupations, which saw a further widening
between northern and London salaries of 2%.
The IT recruitment company said technology-utilising
organisations were increasingly moving to the north as London gets
more expensive and regeneration projects start to make the north
more attractive.
Figures for 2006 showed a similar trend for IT salaries.
Although most highly paid frontline IT roles are still based in
London, the north-south divide is expected to narrow further as
organisations such as the Bank of New York, the Bank of Scotland
and the BBC continue to invest in the region.
Jon Butterfield, managing director, said, "Technology-utilising
organisations are asking why they need to be in London. Rising
costs in the capital and advances in mobile and wireless technology
are making relocation increasingly attractive.
"The IT workforce in London is
highly dependent on the health of the financial services
industry, but far less so in the north. The credit crunch may
afford northern techies the opportunity to close the pay gap still
further on their southern peers."