Hudson Report: Boom as employers start looking for new staff

Banking and finance are driving a massive increase in demand for full-time ICT staff, according to a recent Hudson Report.

In stark contrast to this week’s Clarius report, the recruitment firm found 25.5 per cent of net ICT employers plan on increasing permanent staff during Q4 2009 – up 13.2 percentage points from the last quarter.

The Hudson Report: Employment Expectations survey, which is based on interviews with 5053 employers across 19 core industry groups, cited a significant rise in employer confidence in all states surveyed (ACT, NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia).

Director of Hudson IT, Frank Wadsworth, said the increase was in part a knock-on effect from a return in confidence to the banks and financial institutions, and marked a major turnaround from conditions in June, its Employment expectations report saw a steep decline of interest from employers. At that time, around 24 per cent looking to hire, a plunge of 20 per cent from last year.

According to the latest findings, the main skills in demand are in business intelligence, analytics and project management. The problem now will be sourcing talent, as a sharp increase in employment options exasperates the skills shortage problems, Wadsworth said.

“Companies have to be strategic when sourcing staff,” he said. “Good skills are very much in demand.

“We’ve come from a low base at the start of the year. While we expect a continued growth in demand for full-time job positions, we don’t expect such a dramatic increase for next quarter. As long as positivity remains, demand will also remain.”