Digital recruitment in London rose in Q1, report reveals

The number of digital jobs advertised in the United Kingdom in the first quarter of this year was will likely be less robust than those of the previous quarter because many enterprises put off hiring until after the general election. However, the projected downturn is expected to be little more than an anomaly. More than half of British tech companies forecast a rise in their business activities over the next 12 months – an outlook that’s typically accompanied by an increase in recruitment.

IT security hiring surged in Q1

The Experis report broke down the quarterly development rates in several sub-sectors of the IT industry in London. All experienced an uptick in advertising except for mobile, with IT security leading the way.

• IT security: 6,396 ads, representing a surge of nearly one-third (32 per cent) in comparison with Q4 2014
• Cloud: 7,027 (a 21 per cent increase)
• Big data: 4,846 ads (a 12 per cent boost)
• Web development: 13,087 (also a 12 per cent rise)
• Mobile: 11,508 (an 8 per cent decrease)

In other U.K. cities, the increase in the number of IT security jobs was even higher: 65 per cent over the same time period. Geoff Smith, managing director of Experis Europe, theorised that the upswing in security-related recruitment was spurred by an abundance of cybersecurity attacks hitting the headlines of late.

“High profile cybercrime events over the past year have illustrated the severe brand and material damage that can hit underprepared companies,” he noted, as quoted by The Telegraph. “This has put security hiring high on the radar.”

“Full-time IT workers in London netted an average salary of £52,982.”

Digital jobs in London have country’s highest compensation rates

According to the Experis research, full-time IT workers in the nation’s capital netted an average salary of £52,982 – more than £10,000 higher than their counterparts in the No. 2 city, Cambridge, who earned £41,594. Up in Scotland, the Glaswegian average narrowly pipped Edinburgh’s to the post (£40,546 vs. £40,127, respectively). 

Manchester rounded out the top five with a salary average of £39,136, while the rest of the top 10 were as follows:

• Bristol: £36,450
• Birmingham: £36,212
• Sheffield: £35,292
• Brighton: £35,127
• Newcastle: £33,770

Ultimately, although opportunities are emerging in other cities, contacting an IT recruitment agency in London is still job-seekers’ best bet.