UK tech jobs jump in Q4

Especially in Wales

By Lucy Sherriff • Get more from this author

Posted in IT Director, 26th January 2005 08:33 GMT

Free whitepaper – Managing operating systems and applications with the new Dell Management Console

The number of IT jobs advertised jumped 21 per cent in Q4 2004. December is normally a quiet period in recruitment, but this is the fourth consecutive quarter that IT vacancies have risen, according to CWJobs, the IT jobs site.

Overall, demand for permanent staff rose by 24 per cent, while the number of companies seeking contractors climbed by 14 per cent. The west of England and Wales that are seeing biggest increases, with 36 per cent more permanent jobs on offer than in Q3. Contractors will do better in the West Midlands: demand there has risen 44 per cent.

Manufacturing and public sector employers are driving the trend with 54 per cent and 49 per cent more vacancies respectively, while the retail sector reports a nine per cent increase.

Companies need permanent and contractor staff with Office and SQL skills. Oracle contractors are in high demand, while companies are seeking Java specialists to fill permanent roles.

Richard Nott, sales director at CWJobs, said the IT jobs market should "continue to grow in the first half of 2005", with issues like security, corporate governance and compliance staying high on IT directors' agendas. ®