"Despite uncertainty in the market, small pockets of requirement remained.

"There was a slight increase in hiring activity in the IT contract market, which we attribute to the decrease in permanent vacancies, as large organisations significantly reduced the amount of full-time equivalent roles being signed off and reviewed their current staffing needs.

"Contract rates decreased sharply compared to a year ago, due to an increase in the number of good candidates available in the market and the flexibility with rates that candidates were willing to accept."

Projects being put on hold resulted in lower demand for project managers, business analysts and test analysts.

In telecommunications, there was an increased demand for engineers, designers and architects, the update notes.