IT in jobs boom as salaries, vacancies and applications rise

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The UK IT industry's job market is showing resilience in the face of turbulent conditions, according to new reports from recruitment platform CV-Library, spelling good news for job seekers and HR departments looking to plug the skills gap.

According to the report, job vacancies in the IT industry were up by almost 30% for Q1 2018 compared to the previous quarter. Similarly, IT had the second-biggest quarterly growth rate for job applications, with a 37.7% increase implying that the IT sector's talent pipeline is still alive and well.

Finally, IT salaries are up by around 1.7% compared to last quarter and 7% year-on-year, putting the sector in the top five UK industries in terms of wage growth and well above the national average of one percent.

"It's great to see that the IT industry has performed so well in the first quarter, with businesses in the sector remaining resilient as we move through 2018," said Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library. "And it's clear that this confidence is catching on, with candidate appetite picking back up and job hunters remaining active across the industry. If you're looking to expand your workforce, now could be the perfect time to ramp up your recruitment efforts."

"It's positive that salaries saw an increase in the last quarter and this could be a big contributing factor towards the rise in application rates when compared with Q4. With IT professionals feeling more comfortable about making their next career move, businesses across the industry need to continue to offer competitive packages if they hope to keep the momentum going."

Adam Shepherd

Adam Shepherd has been a technology journalist since 2015, covering everything from cloud storage and security, to smartphones and servers. Over the course of his career, he’s seen the spread of 5G, the growing ubiquity of wireless devices, and the start of the connected revolution. He’s also been to more trade shows and technology conferences than he cares to count.

Adam is an avid follower of the latest hardware innovations, and he is never happier than when tinkering with complex network configurations, or exploring a new Linux distro. He was also previously a co-host on the ITPro Podcast, where he was often found ranting about his love of strange gadgets, his disdain for Windows Mobile, and everything in between.

You can find Adam tweeting about enterprise technology (or more often bad jokes) @AdamShepherUK.