London ekes out IT jobs growth

London continued to grow its share of the IT jobs market in June, albeit marginally, dispelling fears that an economy in recovery would halt the capital’s ability to create the most IT work.

In a regional breakdown of its UK openings, ReThink Recruitment ranked London first, with 40.3% of all IT posts - up from 39.5% last June and 33.8% before the recession (in June 2008).

The rest of the UK, including the South East, now accounts for a diminishing share of new IT positions despite - or perhaps because of, being more sheltered from the financial crisis.

Michael Bennett, a director at Rethink explained: “London has a large number of banks and financial services firms… [who] responded to the downturn by cutting IT departments. When business volumes increased, so did requirements for qualified IT staff.

“Regulatory pressure and greater reporting requirements are also forcing banks and other City firms to strengthen their compliance and risk management IT systems. Many are restructuring their front office IT systems to ensure greater transparency”.

Evidencing the claim, he pointed to insurers who, facing the introduction of Solvency II regulations from December 2012, need IT expertise to update their internal risk models, databases and reporting systems.

And all of London’s financial institutions, not just insurers, have seen an “unprecedented wave of mergers and acquisitions” which, born out of the credit crunch, has generated a “backlog” for IT departments.

Meanwhile, the growing technology hub in East London – now home to a “boom” in social networking and IT start-ups, Mr Bennett said, is competing for the same pool of IT talent.

Rethink reflected on the result - a “rebounding” IT jobs market: “London still offers relatively cheap rents and has consequently attracted very specialised tech firms looking to recruit qualified IT candidates.

“Venture capital firms, who are key funders for most of these tech start-ups are increasingly finding that investments in Silicon Valley are often over-priced. With speculative talk of a second dotcom bubble common, many are deciding that Europe and London in particular is a safer place to invest.”