Job availability across London drops by 33%
- Overall decrease in vacancy availability
- Many clients deferring project decisions as employee holidays get longer
- IT roles fall by nearly half
Contract Recruitment Index highlights
The August 2015 London Recruitment Index recorded a 33% month-on-month drop in job availability across the private sector.
Jodie Finn, Director at Venn Group explained:
“We were aware from conversations with a number of large clients that we would experience a drop in vacancy availability rates in August. Many companies have chosen to defer key project decisions and commencement dates until after the summer period to ensure projects do not suffer from reduced momentum while full-time employees take annual leave. As a result, we’ve seen demand and average pay for candidates fall across a number of sectors in July and August, which most experienced contractors have come to expect.
“As we move into September we are already beginning to see the green shoots of growth as employees return and begin to implement the plans and projects that have been delayed. We expect to see steady growth as a result and find that both clients and candidates are eager to get to work, refreshed from the summer break and better prepared to work together.”
IT sector sees largest fall in demand
Month-on-month, IT professionals felt the largest drop in demand within the private sector, with 48% fewer roles entering the market than July.
Jodie Finn suggests:
“We need to put this month’s seemingly significant drop in demand for people working within IT against the wider trend we’ve seen of London’s rapid and sustained growth as a hub of technology and innovation. Our conversations with clients and organisations working across the City show that London’s influence and success within the sector is only set to grow over the next few years. We are competing more and more as an alternative with cities like New York and Tel Aviv as the best in the world at creating and nurturing talent, which is being reflected in the rise in technical talent we’re seeing. It’s expected that London will need an extra 15,000 developers by this time next year, which will form the backbone of the city’s digital infrastructure, and will create many more opportunities across the IT space for contractors with the right mix of skill and experience.”
