Revealed: UK's IT job hotspots

Nearly two-thirds of all new IT jobs are created in London and the South East, even though the area only accounts for 26 per cent of the UK's population.

Almost two-fifths (39 per cent) of new IT jobs are based in London, with another 23 per cent popping up in the South East region in 2007, according to research.

The North West is the third-ranking region, creating eight per cent of new jobs, research from staffing company ReThink Recruitment reveals.

Many UK regions are lagging behind in terms of IT job creation. The East Midlands has seven per cent of the UK population but is creating three per cent of new IT positions.

New IT jobs by region, according to ReThink Recruitment

♦ London - 38.6 per cent
♦ South East - 23.1 per cent
♦ North West – 8.2 per cent
♦ South West - 7.5 per cent
♦ Yorkshire and Humberside - 4.9 per cent
♦ West Midlands - 4.4 per cent
♦ East Anglia - 3.4 per cent
♦ Scotland - 3.1 per cent
♦ East Midlands - 3.0 per cent
♦ North East - 1.5 per cent
♦ Wales - 1.2 per cent
♦ Northern Ireland - less than one per cent

Michael Bennett, director of ReThink Recruitment, said this regional imbalance is a result of two of the heaviest users of IT - financial services and central government - being concentrated in London.

Bennett added growth in back-office IT roles, which are often based in regions, is lagging behind because of offshore competition but as wage inflation in offshore centres bites, the UK regions are becoming more competitive.

According to ReThink Recruitment, the front and middle offices of financial services companies in London tend to create and update bespoke systems, whereas back-offices tend to rely on off-the-shelf software and so have less specialised IT staff, making them easier to outsource.

But Manchester now has almost the same proportion of its workforce in financial services as London: 19 per cent and 20 per cent respectively, according to the staffing company.

Bennett added UK regions are "starting to make significant inroads" in the IT jobs market with technology companies not too constrained by location.

The research also reveals the South West has increased its share of the number of new IT jobs from five to eight per cent, with the North West going up from seven to eight per cent, when comparing 2006 and 2007's figures.

According to the recruiter, another reason why some UK regions are bumping up their share of the new IT jobs is because local authorities and regional NHS trusts are increasing spending on external IT consultants, whereas central government departments in London are scaling expenditure back.

Northern Ireland is in last place with less than one per cent and Wales is in the penultimate position with 1.2 per cent of the new IT jobs share, according to the research which is based on more than 25,000 job adverts.