Demand for IT staff bounces back in January, says KPMG report

Report suggests demand for both permanent and temporary jobs in IT is picking up

Demand for staff in the IT sector is on the rise and has reached a three-month high, according to stats released in a new report by professional services firm KPMG.

The document, titled Report on Jobs, suggests a rise in both temporary and permanent vacancies during the month of January. The rise has been worked out by analysing data provided by recruitment consultancies and employers about labour market trends.

Statistics have been calculated in a manner in which 50 represents no change in staff appointments over the previous month.

Therefore, according to the KMPG figures, the number of IT vacancies for permanent staff has reached a three-month high with an index figure of 64.4 in January. That compares with a 17 month low of 63.9 at the end of 2014.

However, growth of demand for temporary IT staff was little-changed from December's 15-month low, rising only marginally, according to KMPG.

"They say good news comes in threes and it certainly seems to be the case for the UK economy," said Heath Jackson, partner in the CIO Advisory practice at KPMG

The past month has seen a rise in employment, a jump in the number of jobs being created and a growing number of firms prepared to pay more to land the best staff," he continued, before going on to suggest that the bubble may soon burst, because current trends suggest wages can't just continue to rise.

"However, the good news is only half the story. Starting salaries may be continuing to rise for the jobs being created today, but this is unsustainable over the long term. Employers will reach a point where they cannot afford to keep throwing money at candidates, no matter how much their skills are in demand," Jackson said.

"We are some way off this happening, but if it does, candidates who are in demand today might find it harder to knock doors down tomorrow," he concluded.

However, the positive figures for January should probably be taken with a pinch as it's traditional for organisations to wind down recruitment in December.