IT contractors have seen contract vacancies increase by 23.3% since the start of the year. The IT sector has also enjoyed three quarters of consistent growth and a 4.8% year-on-year increase in rates, according to the just-released October 2010 Quarterly Salary Survey by JobsAdWatch.co.uk.
However, the survey also confirms that the number of IT vacancies is at only half the pre-recession level, and the type and location of vacancies is highly variable. For example, the gap between the north and south of England is widening, with 81.5% of all contracts advertised being based in the south.
By sector, software houses/consultancies and financial services continue to dominate, accounting for 44.5% and 35.8% of demand respectively and experiencing double-digit growth from the previous quarter. Not surprisingly given government cuts, public sector demand for IT contractors is weak, falling 20.1% from the previous quarter and down 29.4% on the previous year.
System designers, business analysts and project managers are the roles most advertised by clients, followed by contract developers. Demand for web designers has fallen by 12.1% from the previous quarter and pay growth in this IT sub-sector has stalled.
Agencies continue to dominate the recruitment space, with 87.9% of all IT contract adverts being posted by recruitment and employment businesses, although there has been a slight increase in direct recruitment adverts by end-user clients.
Salary Services’ Research Director George Molyneaux cautions IT contractors to expect more challenging conditions ahead, noting that ‘offshoring’ means the UK IT sector may never again reach its historically high levels. “There is no guarantee that the IT people laid off during the recession will be re-employed,” he says. “It is more likely that they will have been replaced by the more cost-effective solution of 'Onshore-Offshore' people.”