Crystal Umbrella

Figures released by ReThink Recruitment have revealed that two-thirds of the UK’s new IT positions are created in London and the South East. Just two years ago, IT jobs in this region accounted for 58% of openings in IT but this year 64% of openings are in the capital and surrounding areas. This is despite a loss of confidence in recruitment due to the recession.

However, it is believed that the increased show that the banks and financial institutions based in these areas are now “bouncing back” from those hard months and starting to recruit again.

ReThink director, Michael Bennett, commented: “Many of them responded to the downturn by cutting their IT departments to the bone. As businesses levels have picked up, many have found themselves understaffed and have had to replace a lot of the [IT] skills that were shed during the recession.”

London and the South East are not the only regions enjoying recruitment levels equivalent to pre-recession, Yorkshire and Humberside have also seen an increase in hiring in IT. The same could not be said for the rest of the UK.

Speaking to Contractor UK, managing director of Jenrick IT, Philip Fanthom, said: “The proportion of our business, both contract and permanent, has remained at very similar levels to that of pre-recession. We have found [though that] in this recession and the previous ones we have witnessed that London and the South East is often one of the first geographical areas to feel the downturn, but is always the first to bounce back.”

The recession has had a detrimental effect on recruitment in the UK but new research conducted by ReThink Recruitment found that IT contractors were actually hit harder than anyone else, particularly as contractor rate reduction programmes were commonplace throughout 2009.

ReThink, a technology staffing company, found that during last year a massive 98 per cent of IT contractors were faced with pay cuts or pay freezes. The average pay cut was around ten per cent. This was in comparison to 71 per cent of their permanent counterparts. The research also found that over half of the IT directors surveyed were planning to freeze pay rates during the coming year and 83 per cent expect that contractor rates will stay the same. It is unlikely, however, that IT contractors will see their pay rates cut this year.

Research suggests that the demand for experienced and skilled contractors is now beginning to pick up again. This is particularly true of contractors who are trained and skilled in LINUX, .Net, Java and C#. Demand has increased for these skills sets over the past three months, which suggests that contractor opportunities are set to increase in 2010.

Director of ReThink Recruitment, Michael Bennett, commented: “Contractors are more vulnerable to market fluctuations, so it’s no surprise they have been hit hardest by the recession. That said, with the job market now tightening rates for contractors should rise ahead of pay increases for permanent staff.”