Green shoots of recovery evident in ICT salaries
Green shoots of recovery evident in ICT salaries
While still lagging some way below the average weekly earnings increase of 4.9 percent recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the modest increase in pay of 3.4 percent across the information and communications technology (ICT) sector recorded by the Australian Computer Society (ACS) for 2003-2004 still offers encouragement to those professionals plying their trade in the space.
The figure is significantly below the growth rates back in the salad days of 1998 and 1999, when the twin forces of the dot com boom and the race for Y2K compliance pushed salaries up by an average of 5.2 percent. It does, however, represent an improvement on last year's disappointing growth rate of 3.1 percent, which was a record low.
ACS president Edward Mandla said the survey findings fuelled speculation that the ICT sector had turned the corner after three difficult years and that demand was increasing for qualified professionals.
“While static or declining increases in salary have been recorded every year since 2000, this is the first trend upwards since 1998 and represents hope of a recovery for ICT professionals who’ve been hit hard by the downturn. This is also in keeping with the findings of the ACS employment survey, which found employment in the ICT rose by four percentage points during 2003,” he said.
The upturn has translated into renewed optimism on the part of ICT professionals when it comes to their employment prospects, with 43 percent saying they were experiencing stronger or much stronger demand for their goods or services, up from just 28.4 percent in 2003. Only 11.8 percent reported weaker demand for their services, down from 23.6 percent last year.
The news wasn't as good for independent contractors, with conditions remaining relatively stagnant. During the 12 months to May 2004, 19 percent of contractors were forced to decrease their rates while 52 percent held their rates steady. Only 29 percent increased their rates during the year.
“One of the outcomes we saw last year was that employers were favouring full-time professional staff over hiring independent consultants, which raised the level of uncertainty for those working as contractors. However, the increased new project activity we’re seeing does bode well for independent professionals,” concluded Mandla.
Related Article: