IT&T online job ads continue to disappear but the sector is faring better than others, according to the latest Olivier Job Index.
The recruitment firm’s monthly survey found IT&T sector job ads fell 1.43 per cent in February, compared to a national decline of 9.03 per cent.
Olivier’s overall market index has dropped 38.65 per cent in the past 12 months.
“There is a fall in the number of ads and a lot of talk about retrenchments, but it’s more in the blue collar sector now – IT is struggling along quietly, rather than spectacularly,” Olivier Group director, Robert Olivier, said. “It’s not doing well, but it’s not going to be the worst by a long shot.”
Software development and engineering recruitment was down the most, with a 3.75 per cent drop in online ads last month, and 51 per cent annually. Sales and management proved the strongest segment and was up 4 per cent.
Olivier said some organisations still had the resources to recruit and strengthen their sales teams.
“I think that is a very wise move in this market because there is some great talent available,” he said.
Olivier predicted people coming off IT contracts would struggle the most as companies leaned towards permanent positions. But he warned against feeling despondent from the negative forecasts.
“It is very easy to get drawn into the Dow Jones going down, Iceland’s bankruptcy and that they’re printing money in the UK,” he said. “But there are still 21,000 IT advertisers out there and you only need one of them.”
