The growth of demand for permanent IT staff is currently the weakest it has been in three months, according to a report published by KPMG.
But temporary IT workers are now in their highest demand since August 1998, driven by a booming growth in requirements for short-term IT staff to work on temporary projects.
The report data is drawn from a survey of UK recruitment and employment consultancies, with index numbers being calculated from the percentages of respondents reporting an improvement or decline. Index numbers higher than 50 indicate an increase in growth whereas a number lower than 50 indicates a decline, with 50 indicating no change on the previous month.
At 68.5, down slightly from 69.6, the report said that demand for perm workers coincided with a marked pace of expansion during October, with demand still remaining stronger than the UK-wide trend. IT and Computing placed highly at second amongst the nine sectors the jobs report investigated.
Heath Jackson, partner in the CIO Advisory practice at KPMG, said: "The demand for permanent and temporary IT staff has continued to grow strongly for yet another month, though a slowdown in salary growth can be seen and comes as little surprise. Businesses are struggling to make sense of paying over the odds for people that lack the skills that are required.
"Inflation may be easing, but with many people either struggling on low incomes or still behind the earnings curve because of years of pay freezes, it is something employers will have to consider very carefully. The ruling, earlier this week, on holiday and overtime pay will ensure this is an issue that will rumble on for some time."
