The
number of job vacancies advertised for IT professionals has grown rapidly over
the past three months, as the recovery in the jobs market accelerates.
Compared
with the same period in 2003, the total number of advertised jobs is up by 31
per cent, and contractor vacancies are up by 49 per cent, according to data
from research company SSL and Personnel Today’s sister publication, Computer
Weekly.
The
upturn has been accompanied by the highest average pay rises seen in the IT
profession since the ‘Y2K boom’ in 1999 – equivalent to 4 per cent for
permanent staff, and 5.6 per cent for contract staff.
Electronics,
communications and retail companies, as well as the public sector, have stepped
up recruitment of IT staff, but recruitment is highest among banks and
financial services firms and IT suppliers, the survey reveals.
Some
financial services companies have been reportedly offering to raise the
salaries of key staff by a third, rather than lose them to rivals, according to
IT recruitment firm Computer People.
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The
SSL/Computer Weekly survey found that recruitment began to accelerate in May
and June, pushing the total number of job vacancies advertised in the second
quarter to 73,160, up from 65,722 in the first quarter of the year.
By Daniel Thomas    Â
