Job vacancies across the IT sector continue to surge. IT vacancy data from this time last year shows a significant leap.
Since May 2021, we have seen a 55% lift in IT vacancies, and the trend shows no sign of slowing. Some business intelligence platforms predict that we’ll see as many as three times more IT job vacancy postings over 2022 than we did in 2020.
If you read our monthly insights into the Recruitment Landscape, you’ll be familiar with the anecdotal evidence within the recruitment industry. Respondents are reporting low candidate numbers, a tech skills shortage, and a buoyant market. All of which marry to create a tight jobs market very much in the hands of the candidate.
This combination of factors has caused some to speculate why there may have been such a huge surge in IT vacancy postings. Some believe it is an “insurance” strategy by employers. Anticipating a struggle in filling their open tech roles, could it be they are advertising for more roles than they need?
The detail.
IT vacancies by sector.
Looking a little deeper into the IT sector, there are some roles more heavily advertised than others.
Delving into the IT sector by department, we can determine that ‘Development and Engineering’ is the leading area of recruitment. Software developer and software engineering requirements have risen 45% compared to the same period last year.
However, the function enjoying the fastest rate of growth is IT Management. This includes roles in change, product, or project management. The total numbers of vacancies in these departments are around 22,000 and 17,000 respectively.
IT vacancies by region.
Across the UK, it’s London that holds the largest share of IT vacancies. The capital offers 46% of all IT vacancies across England and Wales.
Other regions of note are the South East with 11% and the North West with 7%.
IT vacancies by industry sector.
The data shows that it’s technology companies that have the biggest IT vacancy requirements. Between January and May, business intelligence from VacancySoft shows that over 32,000 IT vacancies were advertised from within the tech sector.
Other factors to think about.
Of course, the world of work has changed irretrievably at the hands of Covid 19. Working trends that were forced on us have now become the norm for many tech professionals. Remote working is an arrangement that has endured in a post-pandemic world.
Its legacy is evident within the IT Vacancy job descriptions up and down the UK. Remote vacancies are on the rise. This option is now included in up to 11% of all advertised positions.
This figure is significantly higher than pre-covid. At that time, 2% of IT vacancies were advertised as remote.
This opportunity to tap into remote tech talent has also influenced the types of roles that are advertised as remote. Many organisations are choosing to position their IT management roles in HQ while reserving 100% remote opportunities for development roles based either within the UK or from overseas.
In sum.
Considering the digital transformation efforts of businesses up and down the UK, it’s not surprising that IT professionals are in such high demand.
Within the industry, the hiring data and the anecdotal evidence all point to a tight jobs market; one which makes hiring a challenge and puts candidates firmly in the driving seat. Social factors have made skilled candidates a rare commodity. This scarcity has driven starting salaries up to record highs as companies compete for talent like never before.
The IT contract market is booming thanks to lesser permanent options, rising business costs, and economic instability. IT contract professionals are often quicker to start and ready to hit the ground running. Contractors and Fixed Term Contract solutions offer businesses flexibility and scalability in a changeable business environment.
Perhaps it’s these two areas that will see the most amount of change as we charge into the close of 2022.
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