IT professionals still in demand
The tough economic conditions, which have hit countries across the world, are slowly starting to show signs of abating, and this is filtering through to the local job market. Over the last two months there were moderate increases in the number of positions advertised online in SA – something that bodes well for local job seekers.
According to the latest CareerJunction Index (CJI) the Engineering, IT and Finance sectors are facing difficult recruitment conditions despite the relative shortage of jobs. The CJI report shows that IT and Engineering recruiters have access to less than 10 potential career seekers per job advert. The telecommunications sector is doing far better with around 24 applications per advertised position.
“Professionals within the Finance and Information Technology industries are clearly the most required labour in the online labour market in South Africa. Combined, these industries make up more than 50% of employer demand,” the CJI report states.
This shortage of career seekers in the IT and Engineering sectors exist despite a strong supply of IT professionals. This is a good indication that there is strong demand for suitably qualified and experienced IT professionals, and that this demand is unlikely to be satisfied soon.
An interesting fact that emerged from the latest report is that while the Information Technology sector experienced a moderate increase in labour demand, the Engineering sector saw a remarkable decline of 30.25%.
Overall there has been a downturn in the demand for workers over the last year. “South Africa has experienced a significant downturn in online recruitment activity during 2009. This trend was interrupted during December 2009 and January 2010 with a slight incline,” the latest CJI states.
Good news is that the demand for labor seems to be improving. “The increase in labour demand indicates first signs of market recovery. If this trend continues, career seekers will enjoy more employment opportunities while recruiters will face tougher recruitment conditions,” the report says.
IT professionals in demand << Discussion
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