The monthly Olivier Internet Job Index, compiled through the measurement of job advertisements online, found that the number of job advertisements in the information technology and telecommunications (IT&T) sector rose by 20 percent in February over January, in line with the all-industries increase.
"You interpret with caution because the number is in some ways too good to be true," Robert Olivier, the director of Olivier Recruitment told ZDNet Australia . However, Olivier argued the result is not a one-off, but indicative of a longer-term trend in the industry. "The underlying job figures have been good for the last three months when you strip out the seasonal factors."
Although online IT&T job advertisements had fallen over the past few months, Olivier said this was mostly due to seasonal factors and the falls were not as severe as last year. He added that there was no guarantee that the number of IT job advertisements would increase along with the general market.
"The fact that it has kept pace [with overall job figures] is the best news IT has had since the Olympics," he said.
All sectors in the IT&T market saw an increase in job ads, with core growth coming from the sales and management side, according to Olivier. He said this reflected companies' belief spending on IT was set to increase as the technology in use aged, and required replacement.
Olivier added this was good news for members of the Australian Computer Society, as a recent survey indicated unemployment in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector was twice the national average. The Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Senator Richard Alston slammed the survey as blatant grandstanding, but Olivier agrees that much unemployment in the IT sector is hidden. "I think it's going to bring some people back to the market," he said.
The largest proportion of growth in jobs in the IT&T sector are expected to come from local small and medium-sized businesses as opposed to large multinationals, according to Olivier.
"Where Australia is seeing growth is in local businesses, this is particularly true in IT," said Olivier. "American businesses are still more frightened of their political and economic uncertainties." The jobs would come through the combined hiring of many companies, rather than big projects, said Olivier.
