IT Recruitment sees a 17.2% rise since December

Yorkshire and London couldn’t be more different from one another. One famous for its stunning countryside and dales with the other showcasing some of Europe’s tallest skyscrapers and most intricate transport networks. They do however share a spot in the top five locations for IT recruitment.

In December 2018 we released the first in our series of IT Recruitment research articles. Devised to highlight the highs and lows of IT jobs across the UK on a county by county basis. The idea was to showcase where in the UK is the best place to live if you wish to pursue a career in IT and monitor the changes in job levels throughout the course of a year.

Three months on from our first IT Jobs Heat-map post we take a look at how many IT jobs are advertised online. We also compare Spring vs Winter to identify why there has been an increase in IT Recruitment. A 17.2% increase to be exact according to one of the UK’s most recognised job websites, CV Library.

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IT Jobs by county: December vs March

Overall we’ve seen a decent rise in the number of IT jobs advertised online since December. Increases as large as 90% in Northumberland and over 40% in Greater Manchester taking the county from 492 to 692 vacancies. This rise has come despite the fears that come with Brexit negotiations and a slowing down of the IT market overall.

One theory is that developers and other technical wizards have come out of their annual hibernation and are ready to boot up for the year. Another a little more realistic is that the IT recruitment market just slowed down for Christmas. Where industries such as retail, leisure and distribution pick up, tech companies may have started to wind down a bit for the break.

We turn to our very own IT Recruitment Consultant Dan Taylor to get his take on the increase:

“The IT industry as whole is increasing. By this I mean there are more tech companies being formed in the UK. This naturally results in more positions in the market. New companies on the grow advertise heavily for staff and engage in more full on recruitment methods to source staff. This often results in experienced people moving from more established businesses. The established businesses must then compensate by advertising for further key members of staff to join their teams.
 
It is impossible to say increases in advertised positions has a direct correlation to market increase. There are other factors to consider. An increase in contract/interim opportunities that offer further flexibility and higher rates of pay could result in large numbers leaving their permanent roles. Creating a larger need nationwide for online IT recruitment advertising whilst the market itself remains the same or even decreases in size.”

 

Dan Taylor, i4 Recruitment, Norwich

The fall of IT Recruitment (in some counties)

Despite the large average increase across the country, some counties have definitely taken a hit. The six counties to experience a drop in IT recruitment are:

• Oxfordshire – 0.8% drop from 249 jobs to 247
• Cornwall – 2.9% drop from 67 jobs to 65
• Lancashire – 3.2% drop from 125 jobs to 121
• Devon – 12.5% drop from 159 jobs to 139
• Herefordshire – 16% drop from 50 jobs to 42
• Cumbria – 26.8% drop from 41 jobs to 30

Reason? There’s a number of factors that could come into play here. Companies in these counties could have kept their foot on the gas over the Christmas period meaning they’ve fulfilled their recruitment needs. They are also desirable places to leave and could result in easy recruitment through relocating experts. These are the more positive notes. On the flip side some companies may have closed or had to make cuts for one reason or another.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why job advertising would drop so dramatically in some regions. We will however continue to monitor, report and feedback on the trends we notice and compare against market news to gain more of an insight.

Below you’ll see some consistencies and differences since the last article of this type. With London leading the way in terms of volume and Rutland, our smallest county by population, understandably playing host to the least amount of IT job in the UK and overtaking Northumberland to the bottom spot since December.

Top five

1. London – 2,438 advertised careers in the sector
2. Yorkshire – 759 advertised careers in the sector
3. Greater Manchester – 692 advertised careers in the sector
4. Hampshire – 622 advertised careers in the sector
5. Cambridgeshire – 453 advertised careers in the sector

Lowest five

1. Rutland – 14 advertised careers in the sector
2. Northumberland – 19 advertised careers in the sector
3. Cumbria – 30 advertised careers in the sector
4. Isle of Wight – 33 advertised careers in the sector
5. Herefordshire – 42 advertised careers in the sector

Stats sourced from the CV Library website

The top five counties remain the same with some slight position changes and decent increases in the total volume. Hampshire moving from 2nd place to 4th despite a 5.1% increase and Yorkshire rising from 3rd to 2nd after a 26.7% increase.

On the opposite end of the spectrum we see 4 out of the 5 counties from December’s article staying put. With Durham being replaced by Herefordshire after an increase of 42.8% since the winter.

Market Summary for IT Recruitment

Should the market rise again in a similar fashion over the course of the next three months it would be safer to say the demand for IT staff correlates with company’s growth and market expansion. It would be interested to see whether the number of Computer Science college leavers each year ties in with the demand for employees or whether there are huge gaps within the market resulting in such increases in demand. Maybe an article for another time?

If you are looking to get into the IT & Digital sector our career advice section may be of use and can be seen by clicking here. Alternatively if you have what it takes in the form of qualifications and experience you can browse our jobs here.