IT job vacancies show signs of growth

gallery

The recession appears to be subsiding in the IT sector, according to optimistic reports from two recruitment agencies.

It appears that growth in the financial sector in particular is starting to leap ahead.

Matthew Iveson, director of CV Screen, said: “We believe that the affect the recession had on the IT jobs market is beginning to diminish.”

“Companies are growing in confidence and in turn looking to recruit more staff. They are now able to plan for the future with more certainty.”

Comparing the second quarter of 2010 with the same period last year, the company reported vacancies had increased by 47 per cent and the number of applicants per role has declined from 295 to 187.

Iveson believed this drop in applications was a sign jobseekers could afford to be more selective, with more applicants choosing to move on from their current employment rather than through redundancies.

McGregor Boyall tracked the number of vacancies advertised by sixteen financial-markets organisations and noted a jump of 255 per cent in permanent jobs since the beginning of the year.

The growth in contract vacancies was less marked at 75 per cent, which the company saw as an indication that budgets for specific projects were on the rise.

Laurie Boyall, managing director of McGregor Boyall, said: “The very sharp increase in permanent roles, which is continuing to outpace contract requirements, indicates an increased level of confidence in the market.”

Vacancies in the financial sector were dominated by developers, which account for 41 per cent of vacancies, followed by business analysts (16 per cent). The top three most active product areas were Risk (14 per cent), Derivatives (13 per cent) and Equities (nine per cent).

“While everything points to a sustained recovery, the past few weeks have seen a slight element of hesitancy creeping into clients’ plans,” warned Boyall.

“Whether this is simply a traditional summer pause or something more substantial remains to be seen.”

Email to a friend

Print this page