Positive outlook for IT jobs market

Demand for IT personnel in the UK rose by 21% between October and December 2004, according to online IT recruitment specialists CWJobs.co.uk. The CWJobs/SSL quarterly IT skills index reveals demand for permanent and contractor IT personnel increased by 23% and 14% respectively in Q4, bucking the seasonal trend that December is a typically slow month for recruitment. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter that the total number of IT vacancies in the UK has risen, with an increase of 140% over the last 12 months.

Key regional findings:

- The West and Wales has seen the highest increase in permanent IT vacancies of 36% in Q4 but contractor positions have fallen by 6% - the only region to reveal a decrease

- The West Midlands is an attractive region for IT job seekers: permanent vacancies are up by 35.7% and contractor vacancies have risen by 44%

- The North West and East Midlands have experienced - significant rises in the number of contractor vacancies, with 32% and 27% respectively

Key IT skills trends:

- Office, SQL and Oracle remain the most sought after skills in the IT contractor market for the fourth consecutive quarter

- SQL, JAVA and Office were the most popular skills for permanent IT staff in Q4 2004

Key results by Industry:

- Demand for contract IT personnel has risen significantly in Manufacturing and Public Sector, with increases in the number of job vacancies of 54% and 49% respectively

- In Q4 2004, the industries looking for the most permanent IT employees were Media (36%) and Manufacturing (33%)

- Retail was the worst performing sector with only a 9% increase in permanent jobs and a decrease of 12% in contractor vacancies.

The number of permanent IT vacancies across the UK increased by 23% in Q4 2004, compared to 34% in Q3. The West and Wales experienced the most impressive growth of 36% between October and December 2004, but other regions that showed significant increases include: West Midlands (35%), Inner London (30%) and Southern England (29%). Despite demand for permanent IT employees slowing in Q4, the total number of permanent IT job vacancies in the UK increased by 131% in 2004 ñ a significant improvement on a decline of 6% in 2003. Outer London experienced the greatest annual increase of 150%, with all UK regions revealing a rise in job vacancies of more than 100%.

Between October and December 2004, the greatest increase in demand for IT contractors was in the West Midlands (44%). The North West and East Midlands also revealed significant growth in the number of contractor vacancies, with rises of 32% and 27% respectively. Demand for IT contractors has slowed considerably in Outer London, from a massive 70% increase in Q3 to only a 5% rise in Q4. Over the last 12 months the number of IT contractor vacancies rose by 149%, compared to a moderate increase of 18% in 2003, with the North East revealing the most impressive increase of 205%.

From an industry perspective, Manufacturing experienced the greatest percentage increase in the number of IT vacancies in Q4, with rises of 35% permanent and 54% contractor positions. Other top performing sectors were Public Sector with 49% more contractor vacancies and Media with a 35% rise in the number of permanent jobs. Although finance was the top performing sector in Q3 2004 with 53% permanent and 79% contractor increases, the sector experienced only a 20% rise in permanent IT jobs and a decrease of 2% in IT contractor roles on offer in Q4

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

ìItís extremely encouraging to see that the total number of IT job vacancies in the UK increased by 140% in the last 12 months and the signs are that the IT jobs market will continue to grow in the first half of 2005. Issues such as security, corporate governance and compliance remain high on IT directorsí agendas and the start of a new year induces many people in the UK to look for a new job so we expect to see some exceptional growth in the IT jobs market in Q1 2005.î