UK IT vacancies, applications drop in December
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — Job vacancies and applications in the information technology (IT) sector in the United Kingdom declined significantly in December 2023 compared to earlier months.
According to new research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) and software firm Broadbean Technology, permanent IT roles fell 44% and contract roles fell 38% over the past month.
The rate of applications per IT vacancy (APV) has also fallen steadily from 82.91 in August 2023 to 59.19 in December, indicating growing recruitment challenges. The number of people applying for contractor IT jobs also fell from 130.01 in September to 96.55 by the end of the year.
APSCo CEO Ann Swain said the drop in vacancies is “unsurprising” given the country’s tech sector layoffs. Data aggregation website Layoffs.fyi recently reported that around 240,000 tech employees were laid off globally.
However, Swain added that the demand is still influenced by IT skills shortages.
“Demand for IT professionals is still being influenced by skills shortages, which makes the decline in applications we’re seeing a concern. With fewer jobs to apply for, we would expect to see applications remain stable, but they have plummeted.”
Swain also expressed concern that applications had “plummeted” despite fewer available roles, showing persistent talent availability issues in the tech industry.
“Clearly, the talent tech crisis is far from over,” she added.
Overall, both IT recruitment activity and applicant levels fell towards the end of 2023, suggesting a potential worsening of technology skills gaps in the UK.
