IT Recruitment in 2025

IT Job Market Insights Q3 2025

IT recruitment in 2025 remains active, despite wider economic pressures. The sector continues to be driven by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, increased cybersecurity threats, and an ongoing demand for cloud-first digital transformation. As employers seek to modernise their infrastructure and automate processes, competition for specialist skills remains high - particularly in AI, data, and cyber security-related disciplines.

State of the IT Job Market

The IT sector has not been immune to the current period of economic inactivity.
While broader economic uncertainty has led to some caution in hiring, investment in digital, AI, and automation remains a priority for most UK businesses.
The necessity to deliver IT projects for efficiency gains has led to much of the IT hiring being delivered on a contract or project basis to maintain the momentum of transformation programmes.

The rise of AI has led to the evolution, not replacement, of existing job families. Rather than creating new standalone titles, many organisations are expanding the remit of existing roles to incorporate AI competencies, automation, and data analytical skills.

IT Salary Trends

Sector wide, salary inflation has slowed but is still ahead of the national average of 3% within the private sector. The salaries for in-demand skills are still led by market forces and talent availability, with salary increases of 10% or more not uncommon for those with automation, data, and niche cyber skills. Salaries across IT remain resilient, with some moderation following the spikes of 2022–2023. Contract rates have also risen in areas such as infrastructure security and DevOps, where short-term expertise is required to support time-sensitive projects.

Ashdown Group salary benchmarking data shows:

Workplace Trends and Flexibility

Hybrid working is now standard across most technology teams, with many organisations maintaining optional remote-first policies. For candidates, flexibility around location and working hours remains one of the top priorities when evaluating job offers.

Although there is a loosening of talent availability compared to prior years, employers offering flexibility, autonomy, and opportunities to work on modern tech stacks continue to outperform the market in attracting and retaining talent.

Hiring timelines have lengthened slightly in 2025, with a greater focus on due diligence and candidate cultural alignment and less urgency around filling skills gaps. This is a general reflection of the broader job market, but it can cause problems within high-demand niche skill areas.