Demand for IT staff surges in 2010

The latest Report on Jobs has good news for the technology sector

Demand for IT workers in permanent positions has risen by almost 20 per cent in the past year, as recession worries recede and confidence in investing in IT rises.

The Report on Jobs from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG showed that the percentage of IT staff employed on a permanent basis had risen by 17.8 points to 61.4, up from 43.6 in 2009.

The figures also rose significantly for temporary positions, up from 43.3 to 56.9 over the same period.

The points are calculated from the percentages of respondents reporting an improvement, no change or a decline. The indices vary between 0 and 100, and a reading of exactly 50 signals no change on the previous month.

Dave Pye, executive committee member of the REC technology sector group, suggested that the figures are very encouraging and show that industries are keen to push on with growth projects delayed during the recession.

"A lot of the growth we have seen has been for business technology skills, rather than just pure-play technology skills, for areas like financial services or pharmaceuticals, underlining demand for people that can get things done," he said.

"The demand we have seen will ease off somewhat, but we still expect growth for the next few months as confidence continues to sustain the market and help companies grow."

Pye also believes that cuts in the public sector will not have an immediate impact on the private sector, but that the situation is less certain for the technology sector.

"It's a case of wait and see in the public sector at the moment as to how cuts will affect IT workers. But certainly there will be projects that need completing, so work could remain if only on a contractor basis rather than full time," he said.