THE following is an extract from information provided to clients of Gryphon Consultants supporting a recent salary survey by the firm.
p In lower level skills areas, market supply appears to exceed demand (Helpdesk, Administration, Internet/Web support) and some senior roles (project managers, team leaders, business analysts).
p Skilled, high-demand people (WEB/Internet security specialists, Java, Oracle, VB Com) still prefer the flexibility of contract to permanent roles and are generally inflexible on rate negotiations.
p There has been a marked increase (25-30 per cent) in inquiries in WA jobs from eastern states and overseas applicants in the past three months.
p The shift to acceptance of permanent or salaried jobs by contractors is also a current feature of the job market. In some sectors this is a 30-40 per cent shift, however we believe this is purely an aberration, which will last only until the next upswing.
p Some clients’ “misconceptions of excess candidates across all levels/skills in the market” are causing them to misjudge their offers – unrealistically lower dollar offers and causing candidates to reject these.
p The proliferation of recruitment agencies during the boom period and the recent economic down cycle has increased competition and may also contribute to more “head-hunting activities” to target employers sites where salary levels are lower or unrealistic to the market shifts.
