State IT Market Updates - March 2011

Adelaide - South Australia

The South Australian IT market is well positioned for growth in 2011 with major projects worth more than $80 billion creating investment and jobs and stimulating local industries and business.

During the past quarter, demand for IT workers in the SA market has continued at a similar pace to the strong demand experienced throughout the second half of 2010. As a result candidates are typically investigating several prospective jobs at the same time.

Several skills have enjoyed pay increases during the past quarter including contract Business Analysts, .NET Developers, J2EE Developers and Test professionals.

In terms of salaries Senior SAP and Oracle ERP professionals, Applications Development Managers and Security professionals have enjoyed salary increases.

Brisbane - Queensland

The Queensland IT market over the past quarter has largely been shaped by the January 2011 floods. The market is currently being driven by the SME sector, which is already fully operational even as Brisbane companies restore and rebuild flood-affected systems.

The Queensland resources sector has remained buoyant through the past quarter with large enterprises investing in both business transformation and business-as-usual projects.

The Queensland Government has meanwhile diverted its investment in IT projects towards urgent infrastructure repairs which will constrain demand for IT workers over the coming months and ease pressure on pay rates and salaries.

Pay increases have been recorded during the past quarter across several skill areas such as Systems Development (including Business Analysts, J2EE Architects, Solutions Architects and Testing professionals), as well as for Senior Support Infrastructure Administration professionals.

Conversely there has been some contraction in pay rates for Oracle and SQL DBA’s.

Canberra - Australian Capital Territory

There is a palpable mood of confidence in the Canberra ICT market with Peoplebank predicting a strong jobs market in 2011 as investment in IT increases.

The market has largely absorbed the major changes arising from the Gershon Report and is now also emerging from the impact of the GFC and last year’s political uncertainties.

While salaries for permanent roles have remained relatively stable, there have been some rate rises in the contract sector for Senior Change Managers, Database Developers, Testers and Service Desk Operators.

There is currently strong demand for Business Analysts, Project Managers, Testers and SharePoint specialists across the Canberra market.

Peoplebank is expecting pay increases across the in-demand skills as the market is already in short supply and CIOs focus on finishing projects before the end of the financial year.

The next quarter will see departments finalise achievement of their Gershon targets, leading to an increase in available permanent roles. The departments that offer competitive remuneration,
training and career opportunities will be in the best position to be able to attract candidates who want to convert from contract to permanent.

Melbourne - Victoria

While Victoria’s economic growth has been just below the national average through the past decade, the Victorian IT market is well-positioned for continued growth in 2011.

The market experienced a slow start to 2011 with lower than normal IT hiring levels in the banking and utilities sectors largely due to company restructures within several large organisations and consequent freezes on new projects.

Peoplebank predicts that the hiring peak traditionally experienced annually in January will instead occur in March/April 2011, driven by renewed hiring in the banking sector.

Demand for contract roles in the Victorian market is strengthening ahead of permanent roles – this is reflected in the overall number of roles available in addition to employers retaining contractors for longer periods (turnover in IT contract staff has fallen by around 5% during the past quarter).

Pay increases during the past quarter have been enjoyed by Enterprise Architects, Applications Architects, Service Delivery Managers and across a wide range of Support Infrastructure Administration roles.

Perth - Western Australia

Western Australia continues to be Australia’s boom state, with continued investment in major resource projects driving IT jobs and economic growth.

The continued strength of WA’s IT market has led to a significant increase in the number of available roles during the first months of 2011. The strongest growth has been experienced in IT contract placements, growing by around 20% in the past quarter.

Particularly notable was that demand for IT skills was strong in the WA market from the second week of January – well ahead of the traditional late-January spike in demand.

During the past quarter in-demand skills including Business Analysts, Enterprise Architects, Solutions Architects, Program Managers, Help Desk Managers and PC/Desktop Support professionals have enjoyed pay increases of up to 15%.

Sydney - New South Wales

Despite an initially slow start to 2011, the NSW IT jobs market has since grown strongly with improved confidence and firming investment intentions.

The past quarter has seen slow hiring levels in the banking sector, which was somewhat balanced by strong hiring in the Telecommunications and SME sectors.

Peoplebank predicts that the annual hiring peak traditionally experienced in January, will occur instead in March/April 2011, driven by renewed hiring in the banking sector.

Skills shortages are currently being experienced in key skill-sets such as .NET Developers and Business Analysts which is leading to some pressure on rates and salaries. Employers however have been able to largely contain pay increases to new hires with in-demand skills and through rewarding high-performing and loyal existing staff.

Overall during the past quarter the market has seen pay rises of less than 10% for .Net and Java Developers, Business Analysts, Testing Specialists, Infrastructure Architect contractors and Security Architects.