IT vacancies rise at slowest rate in two years

The computing industry continues to suffer from a long-standing skills shortage

Demand for IT workers in the UK continues to rise, but reached at its lowest rate in 28 months this January according to the latest Report on Jobs from KPMG and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC).

KPMG counts a score of 50.0 as ‘neutral'. The index for permanent vacancies in IT & Computing sat well above that in January (with seasonal adjustment), at 61.1, indicating a sharp rise in demand and above the UK average of 59.2. It was the third best-performing sector of the 10 KPMG monitors, after Accounting/Financial and Engineering.

Temporary vacancies also rose slowly, with a rating of 56.3 - down from 58.0 in December. This was below the UK average of 58.5 for short-term staff. Overall, IT & Computing ranked sixth in the temporary job sector rankings.

Across all industries, total staff availability fell at its fastest rate since last May. The fall was sharper for permanent candidates - extending a trend that became apparent in May 2013. The rate of decline for these workers reached a 20-month record, which KPMG expects is related to a combination of a high employment rate and a reluctance among workers to move jobs amid Brexit uncertainty.

Amongst temporary staff, the decline in availability was the highest in 14 months, with the blame falling on skill shortages and a lack of candidates due, again, to Brexit uncertainties.

Due to the decline in available staff and skills across all industries, the rate of pay growth for permanent starters continued to rise, at a high of 64.0 in London and low (but still rising) of 60.5 in the North.

Ian West, head of technology, media and telecommunications at KPMG UK said: "While hiring continued at pace across most areas of the economy, it is clear that the [IT] industry is suffering from a skills shortage, with recruiters struggling to meet demand for roles. Such shortages are driving employers to really look at their 'grow your own' strategies both from an acquisition of talent perspective and via structured development programmes.

"Businesses will want to see this addressed as soon as possible, with measures to boost apprenticeships and other routes into these roles."