Demand for permanent IT staff up despite public-sector job losses

The IT jobs market has grown for nine consecutive quarters, with growth in the private sector helping to compensate for significant job lossses in the public sector.

The number of vacancies for permanent IT jobs increased by 19 per cent over the past year, despite a 40 per cent drop in public-sector IT job vacancies over the same period. Although there are no specific figures for private-sector jobs, this implies they have increased significantly.

"Given that the government recently announced plans to cut public-sector IT costs by £1.4bn as part of a four-year ICT Strategic Implementation Plan, it is likely that this decrease in demand for jobs will continue for the foreseeable future," said Richard Nott, web director for CWJobs.

"However, when you see that there has been a 40 per cent decrease in public-sector demand, for there to still be an overall increase in permanent jobs must mean the private sector [is more than compensating for the contraction in the public sector]," he added.

Jobs for IT contract workers have seen the most significant jump in the last quarter, increasing by six per cent. Nott suggested this is a result of the UK coming out of the recession.

"The increase is more marked in the contract sector. You do see that contractor skills are generally very sharp, as they move from project to project, this means their skills are at the cutting edge," said Nott.

"I think that at the beginning of the recession a lot of companies got rid of their contractors because it was an easy way to cut costs.

"With a permanent employee there is a far more protracted legal process," he added.

"So, initially you see a big decrease for contract workers, but as you come out of the recession, you see the demand for contractors spike.

"This is because there are likely to be certain projects that have been on hold for a year or two, and the best way to get them rolled out quickly is to bring in specialist staff on short or medium-term contracts."

IT staff with agile development skills are in demand, with the number of permanent vacancies increasing by 75 per cent over the past year. Contractor vacancies for agile developers have increased by 38 per cent.

"Agile has really become the de-facto methodology for IT over the past couple of years. Agile is fast moving and adaptable to change," said Nott.

"Most departments are putting this at the heart of their IT strategy for project rollouts and if you have good skills in this area there are lots of opportunities out there".