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April 2008
London IT jobs in decline ...but SA is looking buoyant... The number of new on-line UK IT jobs has slumped dramatically, with opportunities for both full-time and freelance techies drying up for the first time since September 2007. But, despite SA's looming recession due to the high cost of living, the local IT market is not emulating the negativity of the UK, said Karen Geldenhuys, MD of IT recruitment company, Abacus Recruitment. According to on-line web-site, www.contractorUK, although London was the only UK region to offer fewer on-line IT jobs last month than it did in March last year, "its slowdown has helped drag IT job creation nationwide". Research posted by Monster,com, renowned as the world's largest on-line recruiter, reflect that UK IT hiring fell 8% last month, when compared to February. Said www.contractorUK: "Regionally, the decline was 'broad-based', with all major regions showing fewer opportunities than in the previous month, said Hugo Sellert, head of economic research at Monster. "Given the high demand for IT skills before the credit woes, the resulting turmoil looks like a correction to the market, rather than a depression on the scale of the dotcom crash. Additionally, financial recruiter Joslin Rowe was quoted as saying that the UK recruitment slowdown is "very different from the late 1990s, where there was a knee-jerk reaction, resulting in big job losses." But the market is certainly not buoyant, said Geldenhuys. However, she said, the SA IT market "remains vibrant." "But, unfortunately, we are battling to fill posts due to a dramatic skills shortage. And this is not something that is going to change overnight." |