Surge in ICT demand belies govt jobs pessimism

The majority of companies are keeping staffing levels steady but information technology has emerged as the most positive industry sector in terms of growth in employment outlook, new figures from recruitment provider Hudson Asia Pacific have found.

The company's Hudson Report: Employment Trends found that 59.6% of surveyed employers plan to keep their staffing levels steady in the near future and 24.7% expect to add staff.

Fully 43.1% of IT companies – an 11.2% increase on last year – indicated they were planning to hire more staff in 2013, translating to an expected 12,300 new jobs in the sector.

There was a strong bias towards hiring permanent ICT staff, with 26.2% of companies expecting to increase their permanent ICT staff numbers and just 12.8% expecting to decrease the number of ICT professionals. By contrast, 21.4% of companies expected to increase their use of ICT contractors – and 18.3% expected to reduce their use of contractors, the second-highest of the eight industries surveyed.

The surge in demand for IT skills was well ahead of traditional industries including transport (up 8.5%), FMCG (7.8%), government (4.7%), manufacturing (1.8%), and financial services (1.0%).

Resources, construction, professional services, healthcare and utilities sectors reported an overall reduction in staffing expectations. Government was among the least optimistic sectors, with 24.8% of government respondents expecting that they will decrease headcount during 2013 – and it was the least optimistic sector in terms of growth, with just 17.5% anticipating hiring additional staff.

The report also looked at employers' top priorities for 2013, with 24.2% citing a desire to enhance the performance and productivity of their existing teams, 21.7% keen to retain staff, 18.3% anticipating restructuring, 12.4% expecting to focus on staff development, 10.7% on attracting suitable staff, and 9.0% on developing leadership capabilities.

"Employers are heavily focused on driving productivity and most are asking more of their people as a result," said Hudson Asia Pacific CEO Mark Steyn in a statement. "Staff retention, capability and strong leaders have a material impact on productivity and must be addressed if employers are to succeed." – David Braue