KPMG/REC jobs report shows growing demand for permanent IT staff

But the government's VAT hike and spending cuts are yet to bite

December's KPMG/Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) job report shows the continuation of key trends from November, with demand for permanent IT staff still growing, this time at the sharpest rate in four months.

Permanent IT staff also remain the most in demand of all seven verticals examined, with executive/professional and engineering/construction being the second and third most in demand.

.NET Developer skills are the most in demand on the permanent side, while there is also a shortage of temporary .NET and Java developers. The continued demand for permanent staff has seen an increase in salaries offered.

On the temporary side, the growth of vacancies has accelerated to a six-month high but the improved availability of temporary staff has dampened salaries.

However, Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC warns that this high might be short lived.

"While these figures continued to show private sector employment doing well, the next few months will be tough for the UK jobs market. With public sector cuts, the VAT rise and slowing economic growth, we expect to begin to see businesses being much more cautious about hiring in the short term," Green said.

Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, said: "The latest data suggests again that the UK job market is on the road to recovery. A look at the sectors indicates that the private sector is mainly responsible for the overall positive picture. While demand has been strong, we are entering a critical phase for the UK job market, the government cut-backs in public sector spend and employment should start to bite over the coming months, and the impact of the recent VAT increase may begin to affect UK consumer demand and job creation."