The number of new IT posts including IT supervisor, manager, programmer, and database administrator dropped by 37.6% from Oct to Dec 2008, said recruitment consultancy Robert Walters Tuesday.
According to the Asia Job Index for Q4 2008 published by Robert Walters, the number of the above new IT posts was 10,201 in October; 7,063 in November; and 6,363 in December in Hong Kong.
The Robert Walters Asia Job Index tracks advertisement volumes for professional positions across the leading job boards and national newspapers in China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
The IT job markets are no better in countries like China, Singapore, and Japan. Robert Walters' job index indicated that the number of new IT posts fell by 20.1% in China; 35.9% in Singapore; and 27.1% in Japan in the same period.
The overall number of new jobs available also sees decline quarterly. The index indicated that job advertisements placed in the fourth quarter of 2008 fell by 25.2% to 324,298 in Hong Kong and by 1.7% to 189,782 in Singapore, compared with Q3 2008.
'The number of ads placed in Q4 is in line with what we are finding in our dealings with clients,' said Matthew Bennett, director at Robert Walters Hong Kong. 'Headcount budgets tend to be filled up during the last quarter, which results in a natural tail-off at the end of the year.'
He added that the effects of the global economic situation are clearly being felt in Hong Kong, but the market is still experiencing demand for personnel whose skills can save or generate money for their employers.
Computerworld Hong Kong