Silicon Roundabout tech hub drives demand for IT jobs up 18 per cent

Demand for IT workers in London has risen 18 per cent year on year as the government's efforts to create a rival to Silicon Valley in the UK gain momentum, according to the latest figures from recruitment firm CWJobs.

Around 37,000 jobs in London were advertised in the second quarter of 2011, representing 33 per cent of all IT jobs in the UK. Some 29,000 were for permanent roles and 8,000 for contract positions.

A total of 80,000 permanent and 17,000 temporary jobs were advertised across the UK during the period, the south west being the most popular region behind London.

SQL-related skills were the most sought after, accounting for 23,000 UK job postings, followed by C and C# programming work.

Richard Nott, web site director at CWJobs, said that the figures for jobs in London are very encouraging and underline the quality of IT staff in the UK.

"It's promising to see that the government's investment in the IT sector is being reflected in the recruitment market. The quality of IT candidates in the UK is extremely high and often underestimated," he added.

"By positioning London at the centre of the technology world, we hope students, graduates and IT specialists will be inspired to take advantage of the opportunities available."

Freelance IT professionals also received good news after freelance job site PeoplePerHour.com revealed that the demand for IT freelancers using digital technologies had risen 272 per cent in the past 12 months.

The three biggest growth areas were icon design, up 529 per cent, e-commerce skills, up 296 per cent, and IT training, up 93 per cent.

PeoplePerHour.com chief executive, Xenios Thrasyvoulou, told V3 that while the rise in demand for freelance workers was good news, it also highlighted the fact many firms were unwilling to hire full-time workers due to current labour laws.

"It needs to become easier for companies to hire workers. There's so much red tape and bureaucratic labour laws that for many firms it's too complex to hire people, but these figures show it's not all doom and gloom in the job market," he said.

"Freelance will continue grow, though. It's so easy for people to set themselves up in business at home and promote themselves online that it will remain a long-term trend."