The slowdown and uncertainty that especially affect the United States, the European Union and China are causing the IMF to forecast that a third of the world economy will enter into recession this year.
This uncertainty has been especially noticeable in the employability of large IT companies, which have already accumulated more than 100,000 layoffs since 2021. Despite this, the digital services sector in Spain continues to show strength and good short-term prospects in what It refers to your employability. Such is so 72.8% of Spanish ICT service companies wait increase your workforce during the first quarter of 2023.
This is one of the main conclusions of the monthly barometer ICT Monitor, prepared jointly by Vass and the Center for Economic Prediction CEPREDE. A report that in its first installment of the year 2023 especially highlights the growth in the employability climate indicator from the +39.1 points harvested in the previous installment to the +45.5 points of this edition. The same is true at a European level, although the expectations of the entire EU are lower than in the case of Spain, reaching an employability climate of +31.2 points.
The good job prospects for Spanish employers are based on the good recruitment rate that have accumulated. Thus, between October 2021 and October 2022, companies claim to have registered a year-on-year increase of 7.8% in their demand for specialized talent.
“The year 2022 ends with brilliant results for the employability of the digital services sector. In terms of affiliates to Social Security, this type of company registered a membership of 439,000 employees in December last year, which implies the creation of 45,345 new jobs compared to December 2021, which is the largest increase since that there are records, surpassing the results of 2018, 2019 or 2021”, assesses Antonio Rueda, director of Vass Research and head of TIC Monitor.
Moderation in the pace and business forecasts
Despite the fact that the employability and recruitment figures continue to be positive, both in terms of expectations and in recent developments, entrepreneurs in the ICT sector slightly moderate their optimism when projecting turnover and business growth in the short term, mainly due to the effects of economic uncertainty in their markets.
Thus, the new edition of TIC Monitor reveals that almost 71% of businessmen expect a activity growth in the next three months, situating the business climate indicator at +41.8 points (on a -100/+100 scale) and registering 15 points less compared to the last edition. Despite this moderation in expectations, Spain remains well above the European Union average (+23.8 points).
The moderation in these forecasts is mainly due to a reduction in turnover in October 2022 by ICT companies in Spain. This sector registered an interannual growth of +14.3% in turnover in that month, which implies a reduction of more than five percentage points with respect to the previous issue of TIC Monitor. This average growth stands at +17.9% if we talk about the first 10 months of the year, and at +14.6% if the effect of inflation is discounted.
“We will have to closely monitor the evolution of the risks that threaten the technology sector during 2023. But as a great advantage we have the strength of digital transformation, necessary in many companies as a lever for business survival, which is a guarantee that the digital services companies in Spain will continue to operate at a good pace”, says Antonio Rueda.
