The Olivier Internet Job Index, which indexes the job ads placed in the top three online job sites (Seek, MyCareer and CareerOne), found that the number of job ads in the information technology and telecommunications sector fell by 1.03 percent in December compared to November, after being seasonally adjusted. This compares to the overall job ads falling by 7.26 percent -- seasonally adjusted --over the same period.
In even more promising news for the IT&T sector, the number of job ads for the industry placed in December 2003 was 28 percent higher than for December 2002.
Robert Olivier, a director of the Olivier Recruitment Group, said that the fall in the number of job ads may have been contributed to by a lack of job seekers over the December period.
"The first few weeks of December held up well, but after that the fall was more severe than usual," said Olivier, adding the strength of the early weeks in December suggested the job market may bounce back well at the beginning of 2004.
"Leading retailers have said that the Christmas sales were excellent, despite the interest rate rises, so maybe people were shopping not job hopping," said Olivier. "There is an industry view that there was a shortage of candidates before Christmas. Many employers stopped advertising when candidates didn't respond."
"The first week of January will inevitably be slow but by week two, with businesses back at work, the momentum that was there before Christmas will pick up again," said Olivier. "If you're back from holidays, don't wait, get in there. The market will be picking up in January with lots of opportunities."
Most of the sectors within the IT and Telcommunications category remained fairly static in December relative to November. Internet Graphics and Multimedia, Database Development and Administration and the "Other" category all recorded small rises in the number of job ads, while Desktop Support and Helpdesk, Networks Communications and Security, Management and Sales, System Administration/support and Instruction/Training/Writing recorded small falls. The Software Development and Engineering category was flat.
However, Hardware Engineering Systems recorded the biggest rise, with the average number of job ads increasing by just over 20 percent in December over November, although it remained the smallest segment in absolute job numbers.
