Although the total number of job ads in the Information Technology and Telecommunications sector fell by 0.3 percent, when the figures are seasonally adjusted the sector saw an increase of 11 percent in the demand for IT employees.
"We found November was quite quiet," Robert Olivier, director of Olivier Recruitment told ZDNet Australia . "We think the things like the rugby were a bit of a distraction. If you had 'x' number of jobs to fill as an employer and you didn't fill them in November then you'll have to fill them in December."
According to Olivier the first rise in interest rates didn't have an effect on the job market, but the second rise in interest rates may have an adverse effect. For this reason Olivier advises people considering a change in employment to begin looking now.
"A lot of people could find a new role this month and relax over Christmas, then start in the new year. That might be a better strategy than waiting," said Olivier. "At this time last year I advised IT professionals to go sit on a beach, and wait for the vacancies to come back. Not this year. IT is holding up, with an 11 percent [seasonally adjusted] increase where in previous years it has slipped."
The largest segments within the IT&T sector during November were "software development and engineering", which accounted for 26.47 percent of the number of job ads, and "management and sales", which accounted for 25.56 percent of the number of job ads.
The segments that showed an increase in raw job ads in November included "networks, communication and security", "database development and administration", "management and sales" and "Internet graphics and multimedia". The segments that saw a marked decrease in job ads over November included "desktop support and helpdesk" and "hardware engineering systems".
What Jobs! I do not count advertisements by the job agencies (body shops) as jobs. It is much quicker and less expensive to directly advertise a vacancy, than to pay a consultant 30 percent or higher fee of the candiate's salary.