Thereareseveralsignsthat the IT job market is beginning to
improve, withfewerhigh-profile,large-scale
lay-offs and more jobmarket
surveys producing reasons to be positive. But are these just
misnomers, or are things genuinelylookingup?
The first quarter of 2009 was a bad one. E-skills' quarterly
bulletin found demand for permanent and contract staff fell 27% and
32% respectively on the previous quarter. Unemployment for IT
professionals increased from 2.4% to 3.4%.
But the second quarter of the year, while still painful, held
several hopeful signs. For a start, research found the number of IT
jobs on offer is increasing. The Chartered Institute of Personnel
and KPMG say in their quarterly report that IT vacancies are
set to increase in the third quarter, having interviewed 900
employers.
Other research does not completely agree with this, but does
support the general, more positive trend. Salary Services Ltd
produces a quarterly study into the number of IT vacancies. Its
latest study found thatwhile jobs are still falling, they are doing
so at the slowest rate since Britain's economic problems began. Job
advertisements were down by 10%this quarter, which is still a big
slumpbut a substantial improvement on the peak rate of decline of
26% during the winter months. It may be too soon to say there are
green shoots in the IT jobs sector, but they might soon appear.
In the financial services sector, which is generally taken as an
indicator for what will happen in the rest of the industry, demand
for IT contract staff has risen 0.5% since the beginning of the
year. In inner London, where the financial servicessector's
problems have hit hardest, recruitment was down just 1.9% in the
second quarter of this year, compared with a spectacular fall of
68% in the six months to March 2009.
Software houses and consultancies also provide a good indication
of the health of the IT recruitment market, constituting as they do
nearly 60% of the IT job market. Recruitment at these companies was
down just 6% quarter on quarter. George Molyneaux, director of
Salary Services Limited, saysanother hopeful sign is that
advertised salaries havestopped declining."The figures for
permanent IT recruitment activity this quarter may not be showing
green shoots, but equally it has not had the roots die."
Matt Smith, regional managing director at recruitment firm
Harvey Nash, sayshe is starting to see signs that business may be
picking up again."I spend most of my time with clients, who are
managing directors and CIOs. Formany of them, there is a sense that
they have cut everybody they need to cut. They are now looking at
the next step."
While the initial reaction to the credit crunch and resulting
recession was to cut costs, Smith says most people have reorganised
their business and are looking to the future."I think there is a
sense that the market is picking up. It has only just started
happening, but several countries have officially come out of
recession and I think we are going to see a reasonably positive
return."
It may not come as much comfort to those who have been affected,
but the technology industry has, in many ways, been one of the
lucky ones, and does not have quite as far to climb as others to
reach its former strong position. The IT unemployment rate may have
grown to 3.4% in the first quarter of 2009, but the national
unemployment average was 7.3%. IT is no longer seen in the majority
of companies as a service that can be cut - it is recognised as a
way to reduce costs and providebusinesses with a competitive
advantage.
"IT has not had it quite as hard as other functions and it will
play a huge role in helping companies grow after the recession,"
says Smith.