Employers expect to hire fewer IT people between July and September than they did the previous quarter, according to the latest TMP/Hudson Global Resources survey.

The survey of 6,000 employers across the nation revealed that the hiring expectations in the IT arena fell 2 percentage points for the July-September quarter, after rising 2.5 percentage points in the April-June quarter. Hiring expectations are down by 8.7 percent compared to the period May-July 2002, the closest analogous period from a year ago.

Martin Nicholls, Australian practice manager, TMP/Hudson Global Resources told ZDNet Australia   the results of the survey were positive for the IT sector, as computer and IT related jobs were the third highest employment priority of companies. Almost nine percent of organisations said they expected to hire more people in the computer and IT-related sector.

Despite the drop in hiring expectations this quarter compared to last, the IT sector was "one of the most positive categories" of those researched, according to Nicholls.

The positions most in demand in IT are project management -- sought by 16.9 percent of companies -- and developers, who are sought by 15.6 percent of companies. Australian IT departments are also keenly pursuing people with skills in infrastructure development, such as network engineers -- 18.8 percent of departments were anxious to recruit in the area.

"It always interests me when you see strong demand for business analysts and project managers because it's a good sign of investment in new projects," said Nicholls. "It's a good sign people are starting to invest, or think about investing."

However, organisations were still being conservative in their commitment to IT and computer-related staff, with a greater demand for contract workers than permanent staff. Almost two-thirds -- 59.1 percent -- of respondents to the survey said that contractors have similar skills and experience as their permanent colleagues.

"Whilst we have seen a mix of both permanent and contract roles being recruited in the market, there has been a greater emphasis on contract roles in most sectors, indicating a more reserved commitment to IT investment," said Nicholls.

It is this attitude which may lessen the impact of an increase in investment on IT unemployment figures. A recent survey of IT Manager revealed that 90 percent of respondents wouldn't recommend IT as a career path due to the rampant outsourcing to foreign countries occurring in the industry.

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