IT job boom stabilises as vacancies slow

Jobs in the IT sector fell in the second half of last year following an initial post-Covid boom as demand began to stabilise. That’s according to new research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), the trade association for the professional recruitment sector.  

The data, provided by the world’s largest network of job boards, Broadbean Technology, revealed that vacancies within the IT arena fell last year, ending 2022 down 35% when compared to the start of the year. These figures are largely indicative of both a general post-Covid stabilisation of the market and the impact of layoffs from large tech firms throughout the final months of the year.

The statistics also showed a steady rate of applications across the sector throughout 2022 which is encouraging for a skills short environment, but does indicate that IT professionals are more actively looking for new roles in the current economy. With the exception of December, applications were significantly higher in all other months of 2022, with November’s figures up 47.8% year-on-year.

Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo comments:

While last year saw a general slowdown in hiring activity across the IT sector, this is likely a broader indicator that demand has stabilised following the spikes we saw in 2021. The fact that large tech firms have been reducing headcount following what tech leaders have described as overly ambitious hiring activity post-Covid was a clear sign that the tech boom started to slow in Q4 last year. The increase in applications in a sector that is struggling with skills shortages does, however, suggest that an exodus of IT professionals is on the cards.