The IT jobs market has increased in size by 79% since January 2004, according to IT recruitment website CWJobs.co.uk.
However, demand for IT staff in the UK has fallen by 4.6% in the first quarter of 2005, the first decline in two years.
The CWJobs/SSL quarterly IT skills index reveals that the sector traditionally referred to as a barometer for overall business trends saw posts decline for the first time since the second quarter 2003.
Richard Nott, commercial director at CWJobs, said this quarter’s slowdown is not unduly worrying.
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“The beginning of the year is a traditionally quiet time as budgets are set for the next 12 months. Another factor is that the trend for outsourcing in the IT sector shows no sign of abating,” he said.
“However, the last major overhaul of IT infrastructure happened in the run-up to the millennium – and companies are now realising that these systems are looking a little out of date, so we are expecting to see robust growth in Q2.”
