Now's the time to hire: Australian IT workers cautiously positive about employment outlook

The Australian IT industry seems to be positive about employment prospects but there are still areas for growth and talent acquisition, according to a new IT Employment Confidence Industry Survey, conducted by Clicks IT Recruitment.

The Index has found that over the fourth quarter of 2016, 19% of the 500 respondents believe there are many available IT jobs, 28% believe it's difficult to get one and 53% fell somewhere in between.

31% of respondents felt positive about Australian economic conditions, 19% felt negative and 56% remained neutral. This is mostly unchanged since the last quarter.

Additionally, 45% of respondents believed they would lose their job in the next twelve months, compared to 31% who believed they might lose it and only 24% believed they would lose it. The results indicate that despite an 11 point increase in the number of people believing they would lose their jobs, this is still 18% lower than the same time last year.

59% of respondents were positive about their employer's future, 31% were neutral and only 10% were negative. The number of negative responses dropped by 10% this quarter.

49% of respondents stated they would be looking for a job in the next twelve months, while only 16% remained loyal. 35% said they'd consider changing jobs if the right opportunity came along, and 56% are confident in their ability to score a new job.

Overall, 58% were positive about their employment prospects, while 29% remained neutral and 13% were negative.

Clicks IT Recruitment says that in general, confidence in the IT employment market has been steadily strengthening over the last 18 months, however it is strongly dependent on political and economic conditions.

The company says the Index was conducted prior to the US election, and sentiment may no change based on the results.