IT jobs market sees tiny upturn

The IT jobs market experienced a small upturn in October, according to a survey of recruitment specialists.

After more than a year of falling demand there was a slight higher demand for both permanent and temporary IT workers in October than in the month before.

These findings from the Recruitment Industry Survey, which is produced by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG, showed It faired no better than the broader economy.

The survey uses a figure to represent demand, where anything above 50 indicates growth on the previous month.

For permanent IT jobs, the figure in October was 51.5, indicating a very marginal growth on the previous month. Two months ago in August, the figure was 44.8, a slide in the number of posts available from July.

But the fall had been at its worst in March, when the figure for permanent staff was 31.9, one of the most severe declines in the history of the report.

Temporary staff positions also grew last month, producing a figure of 53.8. This compared to a figure of 46.6 in August.

All sectors experienced some growth, except for secretarial and blue collar permanent staff, and temporary accountancy staff. The strongest growth in demand was for medical staff, at 63.1 for permanent staff and 56.0 for contract staff.

Recruiters highlighted software developers as being in particularly high demand.

Kevin Green, chief executive at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, said: "Confidence is on the rise with permanent placements [across industry sectors] increasing at their fastest rate in two years and growth of temporary staff appointments at a sixteen-month high."