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IT pay rates for Q3 remain unchanged

December 17, 2007

Following the rise in (median) hourly rates reported during Q1.07, the latest findings from SkillsMarket/ATSCo’s iProfile Skills Survey showed that yet again IT contract rates remained unchanged in Q3.07 at £40 per hour, and in addition (median) permanent salaries remain unchanged at Q2.07 at £35,000 per annum, despite a slight rise reported last quarter.

(Index is taken from a baseline figure in Q2 2002 and is based upon pay rates of permanent and contract IT staff)

Following the rise in (median) hourly rates reported during Q1.07, the latest findings from SkillsMarket/ATSCo’s iProfile Skills Survey showed that yet again IT contract rates remained unchanged in Q3.07 at £40 per hour, and in addition (median) permanent salaries remain unchanged at Q2.07 at £35,000 per annum, despite a slight rise reported last quarter.

(Index is taken from a baseline figure in Q2 2002 and is based upon pay rates of permanent and contract IT staff)

Despite positive feeling within the agency sector, at ground level, neither permanent IT staff nor IT contractors reported a rise in earnings during the third quarter of 2007-and annual salaries/hourly rates have now remained largely unchanged for three consecutive quarters. This said, as ever, closer inspection shows not all IT staff have faired equally over the period and whilst both permanent and contract staff working in the East Midlands and the Engineering or Manufacturing sectors have all enjoyed increased earnings (i.e. in so far as the median associated salaries/rates have risen in all cases) the reverse was true for IT staff working in the West Midlands, the East of England and the IT sector itself.

Ann Swain, CEO of the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (ATSCo), commented: “2007 seems to be concluding the same way that it started with strong demand for contract and permanent IT staff. Our members predict this trend to continue into 2008 with those possessing niche skills more likely to see a rise in pay rates”.
It would seem that those permanent and contract staff working with C++, JAVA, Oracle, SAP or UNIX, or as Analyst Programmers and Trainers were likely to have benefited from increased earnings over the period, the converse was true for IT staff working with C or Lotus Notes together with those employed as Programme Managers Technical Support staff and Web Developers irrespective of the nature of employment.
Whether in a bid to improve earnings or some other reason, IT staff appeared more likely to be seeking work during the third quarter of 2007 with the percentage ‘seriously looking’ rising from 14% to 20% over the Q2-Q3.07 period and 50% or more of those working in certain roles apparently seeking work (i.e. Operations Managers, Data Analysts, Support Managers and Technical Architects).
In summary, as in other quarters, it is clear that for those with the right skills, qualifications and experience who are mobile and willing to adapt to different environments there will continue to be substantial career opportunities arising within the IT field even if overall there has been little change overall in reported salaries/hourly rates.

About the iProfile Skills Survey:

The iProfile Skills Survey is the most comprehensive guide to IT pay rates and is produced each quarter by SkillsMarket.

The report was commissioned by the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (ATSCo) in 2002 to replace a gap in the market for pay rate analysis based on actual IT pay rates rather than those displayed in job advertisements.

Since its launch it has become the industry’s benchmark for IT contract and permanent pay rates and is also used to monitor market trends. The report enables recruiters to analyse the value of an IT professional based upon their role, skills, experience, industry sector and UK location.

The analysis for the report is produced using the results from a quarterly survey to IT professionals that own an iProfile. The iProfile is the industry standard format for “the online CV”. The analysis of the survey for Q2 2007 was based upon over 5,000 IT professionals.

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