Finance Sector Sees Huge Growth in Demand for IT Personnel

While demand for IT personnel grew rapidly across the UK as a whole and most industry sectors during the first quarter of 2004, the finance sector alone saw a 32% increase in advertised contractor jobs and 20% more permanent IT vacancies available. IT vacancies in the finance sector dramatically outperformed the UK average in terms of both contractor and permanent vacancies advertised between Q1 2003 and Q1 2004. The sector witnessed a massive 130% increase in contractor jobs compared to the national average of 58%, and a 43% rise in advertised permanent jobs compared to the national average of just 19%. The most popular skills for permanent finance sector IT personnel during Q1 2004 were C++, Microsoft Office and Unix. Average salaries for developers with these skills were £51,000 for C++; £52,000 for Microsoft Office and £49,000 for Unix. This is a significant increase on Q4 2003 when the average developer salaries for these three skills were: £42,000 for C++; £46,000 for Microsoft Office and £42,000 for Unix. The top three skills for IT contractors in the finance sector in Q1 2004 were Office, Unix and Java. The finance sector is the second largest employer of IT personnel in the UK advertising 24% of the total number of job vacancies during Q1 2004.