US financers 'want more IT contractors'

Demand for IT contractors from financers in the US has been largely undisturbed and is generally "robust", allaying fears of a slowdown in the wake of the global credit squeeze.



In line with the buoyancy, daily pay rates for contractors across the nation's key financial sectors have risen 8.3 per cent in the last 12 months, suggesting "no fall out" from the credit collapse.



Issuing the verdict yesterday, Paul Taylor, regional vice president at Hudson, a New York-based IT agency, said financers will demand IT contractors at greater numbers in the next fiscal year.



Already the agency's database shows general IT employment rose 17 per cent between 1999 and 2006, compared with a four per cent increase for total US employment over the same period.



But in September 2007, after the credit crisis hit, the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses says that the US IT jobs market shrank by some 3,000 jobs.



At the time, the NACCB said the decline was only marginal and was due to a lack of skilled candidates. "IT employment has been essentially unchanged for more than a year," it said.



Yet speaking yesterday, Mark Roberts, the association's chief executive, said that while demand for IT contractors is still "robust," it has weakened among mortgage lenders and related businesses.



Agents at Hudson agreed, saying that demand for IT contractors from US financers remained firm, except among client companies in the housing or mortgage banking sectors.



"At some point, there will [also] be a general economic downturn as a natural part of the economic cycle," Mr Roberts said, responding to questions.



"The market for IT professionals is certainly susceptible to such a decline. I do not know when that will occur."



Until then, demand for both permanent and contract IT staff, as well as consultants, is strong enough in most industries that it outstrips supply, the association said.



NACCB explained consultants had proved themselves to be a flexible resource.



It said: "In many cases, IT consultants can redeploy from an industry that is declining to an industry that has a need. That is a key role IT services firms play in the labour market."



Hudson, whose core US business is contract recruitment, endorsed the idea that highly skilled IT staff are a vital resource ,particularly as IT becomes more central to business.



"The IT department has long lost the perception of a nice-to-have division," Mr Taylor said yesterday.



"The techies that are implementing new initiatives are now often imperative to the organisation. This has been a major change. They feel much more confident in the IT department and their overall place in the organisation.



"While some spots of the IT jobs market may be weakening most employed IT professionals can see that because of the work they are doing, they are not at serious risk from losing their jobs."



The agency said it expects the credit crunch to trigger a wholesale review by financial clients of how and where IT can help, regulate, speed up or bring efficiencies to their businesses.



In the short to medium-term, such reviews won't negatively affect contract staffing levels.



Mr Taylor said: "As chief information officers put together their budgets for 2008…we've found most major clients expect their budgets to increase because of how mission critical a lot of their projects are, and how important contractors will be."