The Ashdown Group Jobs Index (AGJI) tracks the number of advertised permanent jobs at the Ashdown Group and the leading Internet job boards within the IT, Marketing, Accountancy and HR sectors. Data is compiled throughout the month and released in the first few days of the following month.

October 26th 2010:
8542
points

Change since September

Headline Figure:

Demand for Accountancy, Information Technology, Marketing and HR staff fell during October.  The Ashdown Group Jobs Index fell -3.25% and now stands at 8542 

Summary - The Job Market Remains Robust but Growth is Slowing

In October the number of advertised IT jobs fell by -4.99%.
Growth in demand for Accountancy staff faltered, dropping by -0.25% since September.
Demand for Human Resources staff also fell in October by -0.76%.
The number of jobs advertised in the Marketing sector fell by -2.9%.

Short-term and medium range forecast from John Lynes, Director of the Ashdown Group: 

'Given all of the bad news circulating in the press, we were surprised that the job market had shown such resilience in September. After a long rally, the job market is now starting to flounder.

'The negative effect on confidence of the Government spending cuts and hiring freezes are denting demand for personnel in most sectors. Most concerning has been the flattening of demand for Marketing staff in September followed by a fall in October.

'We are maintaining a positive stance against each of our professional sectors. Any hopes that the economy will return to previous growth levels will need to be underpinned by consumer confidence and robust marketing activity. Digging into UK company financial data and following annual company reports, there are plenty of great success stories of businesses flourishing in difficult times including many retailers. It is disappointing that this information doesn’t attract as much media attention as headline grabbing stories of doom and gloom.

'Our view of the future is one of tempered optimism. Early signs are that demand for staff will rise in November and fall in December as it does each year. For 2011 we are predicting a bumpy ride but steady growth across each of our sectors.'

IT Recruitment Market Analysis

'I continue to believe that demand for IT staff will remain strong and longer term the country will see a shortage of software programmers in 2011 following a cap on immigration and a dwindling number of graduates leaving University with information technology and software development skills.

'Demand for Open Source software skills continue to gather momentum.

'The efficiency gains of well written software applications and careful software integration will provide the competitive edge for businesses looking to drive up profits over the coming year. The constant need for quality software developers is unlikely to change and we don’t foresee any slowdown in demand for these skills.

'Any exodus of IT software programming skills from the Public Sector will easily be absorbed within the Private Sector.

'Uncertainty within the economy generally fuels short term demand for contract and temporary resource whilst hiring managers wait for the dust to settle before making a permanent hiring decision. The Ashdown Group has been seeing a greater number of temporary positions becoming permanent on the run up to October but we are now sensing some caution in the job market which may reverse this trend.'

Marketing Recruitment Market Analysis

'Demand for marketing staff fell by -2.9% in October, after a flat September - the demand graph is looking a little ugly. Demand for marketing personnel fell to the same level as June 2010.

'The marketing job market had been enjoying gentle growth throughout 2010 and to see such a sudden fall is a surprise. From my experience marketing and PR spend falters when businesses decide to take stock and batten down the hatches. I hope this is not a sign of current business confidence.

'Online marketing and search marketing skills remain in demand and a strong contract market is emerging. The Ashdown Group has found specialist SEO and PPC skills are in constant demand and the imbalance between supply and demand is pushing up salaries.

'I am confident that demand will pick up again early in 2011.'

HR Recruitment Market Analysis

'Demand for HR staff in October was fairly static with a -0.76% drop in the number of vacancies being advertised. Looking at the number of vacancies advertised for HR personnel over the year shows a fairly flat market.

'Demand within the sector has been fairly balanced with a healthy spread of demand for learning and development specialists, compensation and benefits skills alongside general HR Management and Advisor level positions.

'January 2010 saw a spike in demand for HR staff as businesses ramped up for a strong trading period. We will be keeping a very close eye on January 2011 as this data may be an early indication of business sentiment for the year.'

Accountancy Recruitment Market Analysis

'Demand within the accountancy job market has remained static for the second month and still remains close to its highest point since June 2009 when the Jobs Index data was first published.

'As one of the largest job sectors, demand within the accountancy sector rarely swings as dramatically as other departments. I am glad to see the accountancy sector performing robustly in a troubled job market.

'I don’t expect much change in the accountancy job market in the coming months.'

Conclusion: 

'There is obviously some uncertainty in the job market and this is precipitating widespread caution. In contrast, most industry data is suggesting that businesses are standing up quite well to difficult trading conditions and this has certainly been reflected in the strong FTSE progress during the October period.

'The Ashdown Group has continued to see good results during Q3 and is well ahead of target for the year. Looking to the future, we are cautiously optimistic based on our customers’ current business performance and their planned hiring activity.'

About the Ashdown Group Jobs Index

The Ashdown Group is a leading specialist recruitment agency operating in the UK

The Ashdown Group Jobs Index (AGJI) tracks the number of advertised permanent jobs at the Ashdown Group and the leading Internet job boards within the IT, Marketing, Accountancy and HR sectors. Data is compiled throughout the month and released in the first few days of the following month.

Analysis and commentary is provided by John Lynes, Operations Director of the Ashdown Group.

This data, comment and associated imagery is owned by the Ashdown Group. If you would like to reproduce any of the information or analysis please do so quoting us as your source and including a backlink.

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