Summer slowdown in IT contractor demand averted

Demand for IT contractors in August avoided the traditional summer nosedive although it doesn’t look like it excited much either.

Published by staffing body the REC, a new report scores IT contractor demand at 60.1, just shy of July (61.5) and in between where it was in March (60.5) and April (60.3).

While that means demand for temporary IT skills still grew in August (any score above 50.0 indicates monthly growth), it is demand for permanent IT skills which had the momentum.

In fact, ‘IT & Computing’ led the rankings for full-time vacancies last month -- trumping nine other rival sectors, and topped the list for skills shortages, says REC’s Report on Jobs.

The subtext is that tech “jobs are being created” and, due to the shortages, “big opportunities [exist]…right now looking for [candidates after] a new role,” said REC’s CEO Neil Carberry.

In the permanent IT jobs market, those shortages are for Automation Testers; B2B/Consumer/Infrastructure Technologists, Software Engineers and IT Architects.

Also in short supply for full-time jobs via REC member agencies are C++; C#, CAD, Data, DevOps, Digital, Fintech, Gaming, IT/Tech, Java, .NET, Oracle Fusion, Salesforce and SEO.

The August report lists CAD; Digital, Gaming, Java, Oracle Fusion and Tech as scarce in the freelance market too. The only hard-to-find skill unique to IT contractors was Revit.