IT jobs in SaaS reach all-time highs in UK as industry dealmaking gathers pace and investment grows
- UK SaaS firms publish 138% more IT vacancies in 2021 compared to 2020
- Dealmaking rises 19% year-on-year, transaction value 123% year-on-year
- Vacancies in early 2022 break record, annual total set to grow 23% year-on-year
- Jobs in IT development and engineering are most in demand
- Recruitment in Yorkshire and North East growing faster than London
Demand for IT professionals in the UK’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) industry is at an all-time high with SaaS firms getting snapped up in record numbers and the sector receiving increasing amounts of funding, a new report shows.
According to global recruitment consultancy Robert Walters and data analytics firm Vacancysoft, UK SaaS firms published 138% more IT vacancies in 2021 compared to 2020, with the industry making major gains during the pandemic as firms sought better digital solutions for their employees and customers.
Dealmaking in the UK SaaS industry also jumped in 2021, with the number of company transactions increasing by 18% year-on-year and values rising by 123% compared to 2020. London SaaS firms have been claiming ever-larger proportions of the total investment, accounting for 72% of total funding in 2021.
Vacancies in early 2022 break record, annual total set to grow 23% year-on-year
In the first months of 2022, monthly IT vacancies in SaaS in January and February both rose above 2,100 jobs, putting the SaaS industry on course for another record-breaking year (projected to finish 23% up on 2021).
The largest proportion of IT vacancies was for developers and engineers, making up 29% of all new jobs in the sector. IT management roles (project management, change management, product management) accounted for 20% of all vacancies. Recruitment for IT support specialists, meanwhile, was the third-largest area, accounting for 17%.
Recruitment in Yorkshire and North East growing faster than London
London constitutes 53% of total vacancies, with the number of new jobs published in 2022 up so far by 29%. The second-largest area is the South East (13%) followed by the East of England (5%) and the North West (also 5%) raised the next-largest amounts of funding in the UK — £1 billion and £475 million, respectively.
The fastest-growing UK region for SaaS IT vacancies is the North East, with monthly averages up 47% compared to 2021, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber (36%). The South West, meanwhile, is the only part of the country experiencing a sluggish start in the first months of 2022, with recruitment so far down by 8%.
- The data for this article is taken from a Vacancysoft and Robert Walters labour market report on the UK tech industry. Read it here.
