The demand for permanent IT and computing staff has increased considerably since last year, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)/KPMG Report on Jobs.
Just two out of eight sectors, IT and computing and nursing/medical/care, showed an increase in demand since last year, the survey of 600 UK recruitment and employment agencies showed.
The need for IT and computing workers rose from 57.7 in April 2005 (50 indicating a stable level) to 61.9 last month, and from 46.9 for nursing/medical/care in April 2005 to 53.1 in April 2006.
The requirement for hotel and catering staff registered the steepest decline, from 61.7 last year to 51.4 in April 2006.
Demand for executive/professional staff placed by recruitment consultancies also dropped slightly from 61.3 in April 2005 to 59.4 last month.
But Michael Carter, people services partner at KPMG, said levels of confidence in the market were growing.
“Business confidence and activity seems to be increasing. This is reflected in higher demand for permanent staff, particularly in IT and computing,” he said.
…as permanent roles get filled more quickly
The number of staff placed in permanent roles by recruitment consultancies rose to its highest rate this year in April, the REC/KPMG Report on Jobs showed.
More than 40% of recruitment agencies indicated a rise in the number of placements in April, bringing the index rate to 58.3 (50 indicating a stable level), compared with 56.5 in January and 51.1 in February.
The index only registered a slight increase from the previous month, however, up from 58.1.
Michael Carter, people services partner at KPMG, said increasing numbers of companies were using managed service providers.
“There is more and more use of managed service companies, which can assist in containing overall employment costs by enabling individuals to be paid both in salary and in dividends,” he said.
…but temporary market dips
The number of temporary/contract staff placements dropped slightly last month to an index of 53.1, compared with 54.0 in March and 56.1 in February.
In April, there was an increase of more than 10 points from January 2006, however, when the temporary placements index stood at just 40.9.
The current index level is almost on a par with November 2005 when it registered at 52.4.
Recruitment consultants said about 30% of respondents reported an increase in temp billings last month, and that
client demand continued to rise.
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