Number of IT vacancies continues to slide

The demand for IT workers is continuing to slide, according to a monthly jobs report.

The data from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG has seen the number of IT vacancies falling. Demand for full-time IT pros earned an index of 48.1 last month, up a smidge from 48.0 in July but down from 59.9 in August last year.

A number below 50 means the sector's demand for workers is shrinking; a number over 50 shows growth. Temporary and contract workers also saw a fall in the number of vacancies, at a rate of rate 46.3, down from a growth rate of 58.3 in the same month last year.

Despite the slipping numbers, full-time IT and computing work was still ranked third for demand in the report, and CNC programmers were considered to be in short supply.

Across all sectors, demand for staff contracted at the quickest rate in 80 months, and health care was the only sector which saw an increase in the number of vacancies.

"The slide in the UK economy continues to hit the jobs market hard with yet another sharp drop in recruitment," said Alan Nolan, director at KPMG.