Contract pay for top project managers soars to pre-GFC levels

Author: Jennifer Foreshew
Appeared in: The Australian
Date: July 26, 2011

Peoplebank CEO Peter Acheson.

TOP-end project managers and .net developers are among the in-demand skills that have raked in rate rises of up to $200 a day in the past six to 12-months, according to recruiters.

A highly experienced project manager in a contracting role can earn about $1200 a day, which equates to earnings of almost $300,000 a year.

Recruiters say the contracting rates for in-demand skills are back to pre-GFC levels, and this has created pockets of high demand in the market.

Peoplebank chief executive Peter Acheson said IT remained strong despite a recent softening in the domestic economy.

“What we have seen so far this year is that clients have been hanging on to their contractors,” Mr Acheson said.

“They know those contractors are going to be in strong demand in the next six to 12 months and they know that they are going to have to pay more for them if they let them go.”

Mr Acheson said IT salaries had risen by about 3-5 per cent across the board in the past 12 months.

“But there are some areas where there have been some substantial increases where there is an acute shortage of the skill set.”

He said SAP people were in extremely high demand and had gained increases of up to $100 a day on a base of $1200 to $1300 a day.

“Business analysts with a strong financial background are seeing increases in Sydney and Melbourne of up to $100 a day from a base of $800 or $900 a day.”

The strongest sectors for contract hiring have been resources, financial services, insurance, utilities and government.

“The single biggest shift in the past six months has been the return of the major resources companies back into the market hiring IT people,” Mr Acheson said.

He said the markets in Western Australia and Queensland were already tight and Sydney and Melbourne were tightening now.