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The Confederation's Report on Jobs (ROJ) recorded a general rise in the number of permanent staff placements for the fourth consecutive month in June, which grew at its fastest rate since March 2001.
Consultancies linked higher volumes of placements to a further improvement in clients' business confidence.
The ROJ also reported contract workers' average weekly billings had risen for the sixth consecutive month, also at their fastest rate for fifteen months.
The only sector not to experience strong demand, according to REC, was IT. The IT sector had been enjoying a slight rise in demand over the last two months, but remained stagnant in June.
Upturn on the horizon? |
Specific demand for IT contractors was reported to have fallen for the 16th consecutive month. Nevertheless, the rate of contraction of demand for IT contractors was well below that seen in the second half of 2001, despite the magnitude of the decline being marginally greater than that seen in May.
In the permanent sector, 'IT & Computing' ranked eighth out of eight sectors, at 50 per cent. Last June it was also recorded as being in last place, but demand was put at 38.7 per cent. The only key permanent IT staff in short supply were software engineers.
| "The decline in rates has come to an end at the top end of the market" | | Nick Wells from IT Jobstats |
IT also ranked in last place in the contracting sector, with demand at 48.4 per cent. This time last year it was in last position at 40.9 per cent. Only web designers were reported as being in demand.
Agencies reported contractor margins had deteriorated for the fourteenth month running in June, with the rate of deterioration at its sharpest since February this year. The latest decline was said to reflect 'fierce competition between suppliers,' with a number of agencies reporting they had cut their fees during the month.
General average hourly rates for contractors otherwise continued to rise in June.
Although growth was the fastest since last August, the rate of increase remained well below the peak seen in October 2000. Just over 13 per cent of agencies reported contract rates were higher than last month, reflecting 'a further marked rise in demand for staff and rising incidences of skill shortages.'
REC's Jobs Vacancies Index, which monitors demand for staff by agencies, eased slightly from last month's 14-month high, attributed to 'uncertainty amongst clients regarding the economic outlook.'
Tim Nicholson, the Chief Executive of REC (who earlier this week announced he is to leave the organisation), said: "Permanent recruitment, which is a good barometer for the economy at large, continues to grow at the fastest rate since March 2001. However, with the vacancy data signalling an easing in the rate of growth of demand for staff during the month, the recent recovery seen in the labour market should not be taken for granted by the Government.
"Competition amongst agencies for temporary placements is high, with all sectors signalling some growth except for IT, where the lack of demand is a real concern for those employed in the sector."
Brett Walsh, Head of UK Human Capital at Andersen, added: "The Report on Jobs for July sends mixed messages regarding the labour market. Although the demand for staff has recovered significantly from the lows of late last year, the pace of growth remains weak compared to that seen prior to last year's slowdown. Increased hesitancy by employers with regard to the recruitment of new staff, especially permanent employees, was also apparent in June, attributable to widespread uncertainty about the strength of the current upturn and the longer term economic outlook. More positively, the availability of staff continued to improve while wage pressures remained weak."
Specifically addressing the IT sector, Nick Wells, founder of the IT statistics site Jobstats, said: "Overall demand is still falling and showing no signs of improvement. Within this picture the contract market is holding up better than the permanent market, which is still falling but not by as much as it was previously.
"Annual rates are improving with every sector either rising or holding steady. Contract rates are holding steady at the top end and falling slightly at the bottom end.
"All in all, June was another dreadful month but the decline in rates has come to an end, at least at the top of the market. In other words if you're good you'll get a job and they'll offer about as much as they did last month; if your not very good you've got to cut your rate to get that job."
According to Jobstats, the average rates for IT workers are: £21 per hour for contractors and £37,400 per annum for employees.
The five most popular skills are:
Management 28.5 per cent - £27 per hour, £41,900 per annum
Support 23.3 per cent - £15 per hour, £33,600 per annum
Finance 17.8 per cent - £34 per hour, £47,400 per annum
Analyst 17.7per cent - £27 per hour, £37,300 per annum
Design 17.2 per cent - £33 per hour, £39,700 per annum
The five most popular locations are:
London 27 per cent - £22 per hour, £45,900 per annum
City 6.2 per cent - £32 per hour, £50,900 per annum
Berkshire 4.9 per cent - £15 per hour, £38,100 per annum
Surrey 3.8 per cent - £17 per hour, £37,300 per annum
Hampshire 2.8 per cent - £25 per hour, £34,800 per annum
According to iprofilestats, formerly theskillsmarket.com, the top five IT skills by supply are:
| Rank | Skill | Rate | | 1 | HTML | £31.32 | | 2 | UNIX | £39.53 | | 3 | JAVA | £37.12 | | 4 | MS Access | £34 | | 5 | JavaScript | £30.26 |
The top five IT skills by demand are:
| Rank | Skill | Rate | | 1 | JAVA | £37.12 | | 2 | C++ | £36.38 | | 3 | UNIX | £39.53 | | 4 | MS SQL Server | £34.76 | | 5 | MS Visual Basic | £37.45 |
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Richard Powell, © Shout99.com 2002
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