IT Job Ads Continue Decline

The number of IT jobs advertised on the Internet has continued to slip as
positions in more traditional industries account for a larger segment of
recruitment, according to new figures from local career firm Olivier
Recruitment.

Olivier’s Internet Job Index, which surveys recruitment sites to give a view
of employment prospects by sector and state, indicates the Internet is being
increasingly used as an avenue to reach job hunters. According to the
index’s April figures, the average weekly number of job vacancies on the Net
rose from 92,755 in February to 94,502 in March.

Olivier maintains this 1.9 per cent rise, which follows a 5.95 per cent
increase in Internet job ads in February, correlates to survey results by
the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This research estimated there were
96,000 jobs available in February.

While such figures may imply at least a moderate bounce-back for the
Australian job market and a 24.88 per cent increase over the number of job
ads in March 2000, not all sectors are feeling the upward surge.

The multimedia, Internet and graphics sector suffered its eleventh
successive month of decline in the number of job ads, while IT and
telecommunications recorded its seventh successive decline.

What is more, the gap in the number of IT and non-IT job ads on the Internet
appears to be widening. Non-IT jobs rose from 56,465 in February to 60,961
in March, while the number of IT jobs dropped from 36,290 in February to
33,541 in March. These figures for IT jobs remain higher than they were in
March last year, so while there has been some growth, this has now slowed
and reversed.

In its report, Olivier attributed the difference in growth between IT and
non-IT sectors emphasises the downturn in tech positions and the take-up of
new technology by the more traditional sectors covered in its index. For
instance, the engineering and mining sector has experienced an increase in
the number of jobs advertised on the Internet, as has science.

Both IT and multimedia positions have levelled off, whilst the index
stripped of these positions shows a steady and consistent growth,2 the
reported continued.