Despite unemployment being at its lowest level since 2007, the number of vacancies advertised online for IT professionals has fallen in Q2. However, the number of roles being recruited for on the so-called 'hidden market' has increased, according to Opus Recruitment Solutions and Talent Cube.
Specialist IT recruitment company Opus Recruitment Solutions, in association with the leading provider of decision-ready insight into the online recruitment advertising market, Talent Cube has found that the number of advertised vacancies for professional IT workers in the UK saw an -11.7% drop in the three months leading to June.
The greatest fall in advertised demand was in Northern Ireland (-23.3%), followed by Yorkshire & Humber (-13.5%), London (-13.2%) and South East (-10.8%). The East Midlands and Scotland also saw less demand quarter-on-quarter, with drops of -8.6% and -7.5% respectively. The only region to report an increase in professional IT job advertisements was Wales where there was a 2.8% growth on Q1.
Commenting on these latest findings, Darren Ryemill, CEO of Opus Recruitment Solutions, said, “Whilst the number of advertised vacancies would suggest a decline in the number of jobs available, there remains a high number of unadvertised positions within the 'hidden market'.
“We have been seeing a continued upsurge in the number of temporary recruitment and permanent IT roles being created, with volumes at their highest levels since 2008.
“This is echoed by the most recent Report on Jobs, published earlier this month by KPMG. It found that IT jobs demand in August alone was above the national average for all types of workers in the UK, with temporary vacancies rising at their quickest rate in 16 years.”
Mr Ryemill added, “Feedback from our clients suggests a strong end to the year, with as many as 4 in 10 tech employers planning to increase their hiring activity in Q3 and Q4 for key roles such as those in business intelligence, Java, .Net, SQL, PHP and project managers.”
Opus Recruitment Solutions is currently on course for reporting its best year since it was formed 6 years ago, with turnover forecast to exceed £23 million in 2014. Between 2011 and 2013 the company enjoyed a 132% growth, with billings rising from £5.9m to £13.7m, making Opus Recruitment Solutions one of the fastest growing consultancies in the UK.