Demand for Agile up by 48 per cent

Research from CW Jobs shows surge in Agile developer demand, and modest rise in pay rates

The IT industry has seen a marked increase in demand for workers for the seventh quarter in a row, and one of the most prominent trends of the past three months is that an ability to manage an agile project development process is fast becoming one of the most sought-after skills, with vacancies up 48 per cent.

According to figures published by recruitment firm CW Jobs, contract IT workers are also seeing an 11 per cent increase in the number of job postings, while permanent job postings have also increased, by a more modest six per cent.

Software developers are the most sought-after IT professionals in the sector, making up almost 40 per cent of all IT jobs advertised. They are followed by design and project managers, who represent 20 per cent of the vacancies advertised.

However, although developers' pay rates have also increased in the past year, it was only by a modest three per cent, and general salary rates have also increased, again modestly, by just 0.9 per cent year on year.