IT recruitment sees steady growth in q4 2003.

Inner and Outer London saw the biggest growth in permanent IT jobs...

The IT recruitment market bucked the seasonal trend at the end of last year, according to the latest statistics from the CWJobs Quarterly IT Skills Index, with both permanent and contract advertised IT vacancies showing an overall increase. Despite December typically being a slow month for recruitment, permanent IT vacancies rose by an average of 4% between October and December 2003, and IT contract jobs increased by 1%. This is positive news for the IT market, as companies are seemingly confident enough to recruit IT staff in readiness for the coming year.

Key findings include:

Outer London is the only region to see growth in contract (16%) & permanent jobs (14%)
Most regions see growth in permanent vacancies ñ biggest rises in Outer London (14%), West Midlands (10%) & Inner London (9%)
Contract positions rise only in Outer London (16%) and West & Wales (1%)
Contract positions drop most dramatically in East Midlands (21%)
97% of permanent vacancies were advertised online in Q4 2003
OFFICE, SQL and UNIX were the most popular skills for IT contractors during Q4 2003
SQL, UNIX and C topped the list for permanent staff

Across the UK, the picture was particularly good for permanent IT jobseekers as this rise in available jobs was the first since the beginning of 2003. The total number of permanent IT jobs advertised between October and December 2003 was 48,975 ñ 97% of which were advertised online. The only regions to experience a decline in permanent vacancies were: West & Wales (-7%); and Scotland & Northern Ireland (-14%). Outer London saw the biggest rise in jobs available of 14%, followed by the West Midlands (10%) and Inner London (9%).

The numbers of advertised contract vacancies have been consistently increasing over the last 12 months; however the rate at which they are growing slowed down to just 1% in the final quarter of 2003, with a total of 14847 jobs advertised. This is 18% greater than Q4 2002. Despite an average increase across the country, the region responsible for keeping the contract market steady was Outer London with an increase of 16%. Outer London also has the highest proportion of IT jobs available in the country. The only other region to see an increase was the West & Wales with 1% growth.

From a vertical viewpoint, IT jobseekers in the Manufacturing industry and Public Sector experienced plummeting numbers of available contract and permanent positions. Contract jobs in Manufacturing dropped by 22% and permanent vacancies by 18%. In the Public Sector there were 12% fewer contract jobs up for grabs and 5% fewer permanent placements. The Finance sector, which was largely responsible for keeping the IT contract market buoyant between July and September 2003, remained true to form with an increase in both contract (7%) and permanent (11%) vacancies.

OFFICE was the most popular skill for IT contractors during Q4 2003, followed by SQL and ORACLE. The top three skills demanded for permanent staff were SQL, UNIX and C .

Commenting on the findings, John Salt, Operations Director at CWJobs said:

The increase in job volumes throughout the final quarter of 2003 is a very positive indication of a sustained recovery in the IT market, especially as the run up to Christmas is usually very slow for the recruitment industry. CWJobs is seeing recruiter confidence holding steady into the New Year with a growing number of IT contract and permanent vacancies being posted on the site during January. Banking and finance continue to lead the growth, but we have also seen an increase in software, media and consultancy demand.