North-South pay gap narrows for IT staff

Pay packets for IT staff in the North of England will keep growing faster than in London, despite those in the South being thicker, on average, by almost £14,000.



Figures from E-skills, based on official statistics, show that the average annual wage for an IT worker in the North is now £30,333, compared with £44,200 in London.



But jobs agency ReThink Recruitment, which obtained the figures, said IT salaries in the North actually grew 4.8% last year, compared to growth of just 3.7% in the City.



Wider calculations reveal that IT has therefore bucked the UK trend, as, during 2007, the pay gap between the North and South in all occupations widened by two per cent.



Speaking last week, ReThink said salaries for IT staff in the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humber regions will continue to grow faster than those in London in the coming months.



The gap in salaries will narrow thanks to IT skill shortages, more remote working and government relocation under the Lyons Review, among other factors, the agency said.



Evidencing its claims, the firm pointed out that the Bank of Scotland and Bank of New York will beef up their operations in Manchester, while the BBC is to shift five core departments to the city.



Meanwhile, IT service providers, specialising in hardware and consulting, such as Siemens, IBM and Fujitsu, also have major operations in the North.



"The IT industry is moving towards remote, flexible working at a rapid pace, which is eroding traditional geographical constraints, such as the North-South divide" ReThink said.



"So much work can now be accomplished offsite that the IT workforce is becoming increasingly dispersed."



For some tech roles toward to the top of the skills ladder, the agency said the differences in pay between London and Northern cities like Manchester as "negligible," particularly for cutting-edge Web technologists.



And though London is still monopolising the highest-paying tech jobs, like office-facing roles in hedge funds, banking and financial consultancy, their industry is vulnerable.



"The IT workforce in London is highly dependent on the health of the financial services industry, but far less so in the North," said Jon Butterfield, ReThink's managing director.



"The credit crunch may afford Northern techies the opportunity to close the pay gap still further on their Southern peers."



Yet there is some way to go before employees of Financial Services in the North can compete with the wages being offered to their counterparts in the South.



Figures from the Office of National Statistics Labour Force Survey show average annual pay for FS workers in the North is £24,544, whereas in London it is just over £55,000.



Yet overall, IT workers in finance, and other sectors, might be wise to prepare for some lucrative job offers, albeit ones which are conducive with full-time employment.



Mr Butterfield said: "Skills shortages are an important factor driving wage rises for IT professionals in the North, where rapid growth of high tech industries is far outstripping supply of skills. Employers are offering big incentives to draw IT staff away from the South East, which tends to be a magnet for technology professionals."