Despite the number of unfilled job vacancies in the tech sector falling by more than a fifth in the latter months of 2022, the skills gap continues to plague the sector as 55,000 roles are left unfilled.

The Robert Half Jobs Confidence Index has produced an authoritative report on the key economic factors influencing confidence in the UK labour market, in association with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr).

Craig Freedberg, Regional Director Technology, at Robert Half, commented: “Despite the news of layoffs in big tech, and indeed our own research showing that the number of unfilled tech roles has decreased, there is no denying that companies are still contending with skills shortage – particularly start-ups and scaling entities.”

The research reveals that, while the average number of unfilled job vacancies in the sector fell by 21.4% annually in quarter four 2022, companies – particularly scaling tech businesses and start-ups – are still facing big challenges filling vital vacancies with the digital skills they need to remain competitive.

Further, the report shows that average earnings in the sector were up by 8.6% year on year, marking an acceleration from 6.3% in quarter three.

Earnings in the sector were more than two-thirds higher (67.9%) than average pay across all industries.

While this is positive news for talent in the current crisis, it does suggest that employers are still having to entice candidates with inflated remuneration packages as demand remains high.

Even so, other reports have suggested that tech workers are looking for more than high wages when applying for jobs, with Gen-Z in particular looking at a company’s ethics and impact when applying for jobs.

“There are more high-growth companies in the UK than European peers, with 144 unicorns, 237 futurecorns and 85,000 start-ups and scale-ups being created,” Freedberg commented.

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“With big tech no longer aggressively recruiting we are seeing a rebalancing towards SME businesses that have – and continue to – struggle to source talent.

“Against this backdrop candidates with the right skills set are certainly in the driving seat, and employers are having to develop compelling attraction strategies, not only in relation to remuneration, but also broader benefits packages in what is a skill short environment.”