Technical project managers with a decade of experience could earn $180,000 to $200,000 in 2021, but those figures had pulled back to between $150,000 and $180,000. He said mid-level automation testers could earn $160,000 in 2021 but $150,000 this year.
Based on anecdotal experience and their own data, recruiters said tech salaries were correcting after a hiring frenzy in 2021 and 2022, when companies overpaid for technology staff. This inflated salaries by 20 per cent to 30 per cent from their pre-pandemic levels.
They said the market had cooled as migration returned and a visa backlog cleared, while start-ups and tech giants have made thousands of workers redundant amid a collapse in venture capital funding on offer.
Elsewhere, the big four banks have adjusted to the uncertain economic outlook by putting IT projects on hold, cutting contractors or moving them to lower paid – but more secure – permanent roles.
Last week, Commonwealth Bank of Australia was reported to have made more than 200 IT workers redundant, after previously speaking publicly about its desperate hunt for more tech talent.
“We’ve definitely seen a slowdown or cooling down in the market,” Mr Rughani told The Australian Financial Review.
“There is still hiring out there, but companies can afford to be a lot more selective, and it’s a not candidate-driven market anymore.”
Data from local recruitment firm Seek showed advertised salaries in the information and communication technology industry grew just 1.8 per cent in the year to July and 0.2 per cent in the past quarter. This reflects ongoing sluggish demand for labour in ICT, with job advertisements also down 35 per cent year-on-year.
“We’re not going to get back to pre-pandemic levels; salaries will be higher, but there’s a lot more scrutiny from the top-down on hiring employees with high salaries,” he said.
Taking a haircut
Matthew Munson, Sydney managing director of recruitment firm Talent, said supply of tech skills was outstripping demand for the first time since the pandemic hit. He said salary and contractor rates have fallen by an average of 10 per cent to 15 per cent compared to 12 months ago.
“The high salaries that occurred in the post-pandemic boom of tech for permanent and contract employees were not sustainable and employers are now looking to reduce costs,” Mr Munson said.
“If they lay people off now, they can potentially rehire in six months and save considerably.”
Richard White said WiseTech never bought into the “silliness” in the job market. Michael Quelch
Richard White, chief executive of ASX-listed WiseTech Global, said he was receiving about 4000 inbound job applications a month, which was twice as many as this time last year.
“In 2021 and the first half of ’22, there was some crazy stuff going on the marketplace. People were throwing money everywhere, and mostly it was from companies that had never made any profit,” Mr White said.
“Most of those companies have now stopped hiring or are laying off people. We didn’t lean into that silliness.”
