Public sector IT vacancies soar with permanent vacancies up by 37%

CWJobs/SSL statistics show that public sector IT jobs are on the up again

IT vacancies in the public sector have seen incredible growth between January and March 2004 according to the latest statistics from the CWJobs/SSL quarterly IT skills survey. With IT vacancies dramatically increasing across the UK, the public sector alone has seen a 37% increase in permanent IT vacancies with contract vacancies growing by 25% during Q1 2004.

The public sector has outperformed the UK average in terms of permanent IT vacancies advertised between January and March 2004, with its 37% rise in jobs compared to the UK average of 26%. The broader picture of the last twelve months is also positive for the public sector with permanent vacancies 28% higher than Q1 2003 and a 37% increase in contractor roles.

The public sector has also seen the largest increase in permanent vacancies compared to other UK industry sectors during Q1 2004. Jobs in electronics/communications rose at the slightly slower rate of 30% and software houses/consultancies at 29%. Contractor vacancies were led by the software house/consultancy sector with a 34% increase compared to the 24% increase in vacancies seen by the public sector.

The most popular skills for permanent public sector IT staff between January and March 2004 were SQL, Oracle and Microsoft Office. Average salaries for developers with these skills during Q1 2004 were 44,000 for SQL, 48,000 for Oracle and 37,000 for Microsoft Office. The top three required skills for IT contractors in the public sector were Oracle, Office and Prince.

Commenting on the statistics, Richard Nott, Sales Director at CWJobs said:

ìIT professionals looking for work in the public sector are benefiting from the huge investment in eGovernment initiatives happening currently with the 2005 deadline looming. We would expect to see the demand for permanent and contract IT staff remain strong for the rest of the year, not only in the public sector but throughout other UK industries as well.î