Good news for Kiwis thinking of hopping across the ditch - jobs in the Australian IT industry are continuing to grow steadily, and graduates are in high demand due to an increasing skills shortage, according to the Olivier Internet Job Index.
The numbers of Australian jobs advertised on the internet rose by more than 2 percent in November despite the usual Christmas seasonal decline.
After recording a dip in online job ads in October, the index bounced back by 2.19 per cent last month with 183,709 ads counted on the major employment websites.
And the biggest gains were in IT, with a 36.21 percent increase in job opportunities over the last 12 months.
Group director Robert Olivier says the strongest demand within IT was for software engineers and developers.
"This is a great sign because if these sections are in demand, the rest of IT is also, as it shows companies are investing again," he says.
Job ads targeting university leavers were up 11.65 percent for the month and have risen 66.5 percent over the year. Ads for graduates in engineering and mining were up 105 percent for the year, while ads for IT graduates rose by 89 percent.
Olivier says the figures indicated a continuing skills shortage.
"After the technology downturn, university numbers dropped significantly, but those that did choose to study IT in 2001 and 2002 are graduating now, and it will be a very good time for them," he said.
Olivier is optimistic about the prospects for the IT job market over the next year and said that it should continue to grow steadily.
"Other sectors, such as advertising and retail are affected by factors like oil price rises and inflation, but IT is a longer term investment and does not seem as variable. People don't invest in a project one month only to ditch it the next month," he says.
He says the smart job seeker will look now to secure a job in the new year, rather then wait for January.
"Even though many people are off on holiday, employers are not and they want to fill vacancies now."