Survey finds little shift in ICT pay rates

Some specialties in strong demand

Following its hiring intentions survey, released earlier this year, which showed IT is the most optimistic of all sectors when it comes to plans to increase staffing levels, recruitment firm Hudson has released its annual ICT salary guide.

The general trend is that there has been no significant change in pay rates during the past year, with most skill-sets in IT showing no change from the end of 2008 until the end of last year for salaried positions. Contract rates showed a decline in some areas, for example senior test analysts, senior technical business analysts and systems analysts.

Hudson’s survey measured pay rates across four areas within ICT; analysts and operations, systems development, management and infrastructure.

The commentary on the salary guide notes: “Up until the last quarter of 2009 many IT projects remained on hold which negatively impacted contract rates and decreased the demand for roles such as business analysts and testers. As organisations restructured, many middle managers were affected by redundancies, which placed a downward pressure on salaries.

“In the final quarter of 2009, we started to see a gradual recovery in salary levels as a number of IT projects were brought back to life.

“In some areas, contract rates saw little change. In the North Island, there was a steady push downwards on contract rates particularly within the project environment. This downward trend was largely due to low levels of projects being initiated, and therefore an oversupply of talent available. In Wellington in particular, there was less demand for testing professionals, which placed a downward pressure on contract rates.”

In other areas, demand for candidates remains strong.

“There is continuing demand for roles that specialise in Websphere, VMware, Cloud Computing, SharePoint and CRM development. Enterprise Architects with commercial experience have also been in high demand.

“Senior Java and .NET developers have been in demand across all locations, particularly Christchurch. Businesses are cooperating to ensure that developers remain in Christchurch by sharing the capacity of available candidates in the region, in a concerted response to the skill shortages in this area. There has been a further increase in requirements for developers with web services experience as businesses look for efficiencies.”

Shortages persist in Auckland for well-qualified project managers and business analysts with both technical and business experience, and for well-networked sales people.

“In some areas, we have seen an increased requirement for geospatial professionals, a field that is increasing in importance as people become more aware of geospatial usage in business,” the report says.

“In contrast, we are seeing less demand for candidates in entry level IT jobs, as more companies decide to absorb the extra responsibilities covered by these roles, as well as outsourcing or off-shoring roles at this level.”

The global financial crisis has had a silver lining for local IT employers, the commentary notes.

“In 2009, there has been a reduction in the exodus of skilled intermediate level talent.”

That won’t last forever, Hudson predicts. As the global economy improves, businesses will once again experience the same historical skill shortages at the intermediate level, the guide says.