Dot coms may be suffering a suspicious market and cutting back staff to weather the storm, but the IT sector remains confident of job growth, according to Morgan & Banks’ February-April quarterly report.
According to the report, 59.1 per cent of IT firms were confident of hiring staff in the next quarter while 4.3 per cent predicted downsizing, producing a net effect of 54.8 per cent. This figure remains nearly twice the national average of 29.8 per cent.
The Job Index, which surveyed more than 6500 employers nationally, reported NSW employers as the most optimistic in the Australian IT industry of job growth.
“The Information Technology industry has enjoyed a huge boost in Australia over the last few years,” said Ian James, director of Morgan & Banks division MBT. “We are now looking at the stabilising of a boom industry.”
“It is not surprising, therefore, to note a decline over the record results we have seen,” added James, in accounting for the
The IT industry has become extremely volatile of late, with a number of dot coms in particular shedding their staff. Quokka Sports cut as much of 60 percent of its staff earlier this month, while Chaos Music and News Interactive have also cut jobs in a move to stop cashburn.
Careers site Seek, which has recorded around 26,500 job postings on its site in January, believed that such high profile staff cuts are the exception, rather than the rule. “Whilst there have been some well-publicised layoffs in the IT sector recently, these have been limited to a relatively small number of companies and the sector is performing well overall,” Seek told australia.internet.com.
“Small, medium and large firms are recording consistent declines in job optimism,” said James. “However, medium-sized companies with 20-200 staff members will be the most active in the quarter.”
James said predicted that areas of greatest job opportunity in IT over the coming months would be in core computer and information technology areas and in sales. “There are also likely to be a number of opportunities available in senior management, marketing and clerical/administrative positions. The demand for contractors will remain high,” added James.
