Despite one week of high numbers the trend for telco advertisements in the last 12 weeks has been negative, according to Telecoms sector watching organisation Rural Bash.

According to Rural Bash, the average job growth peaked at exactly 4% (fixed) per week since February 2004 8 weeks ago and has fallen each week steadily to an average of 3.0% (fixed) per week since February 2004. That is a solid drop of 1% average over 80 weeks. Yes we know that sounds confusing, but close examination shows that what the figures are saying is that telecoms jobs growth are slowing markedly.

One likely candidate for the job dip in the face of what should be a strong market is the sale of Telstra, according to Rural Bash.  It is likely that concerns for the future are leaving employers nervous about taking on more staff at this time. If this is true the market should rebound over the next one to two months as telco growth continues.

On a bright note, evidence is strong that IT growth remains positive while the drop is only in communications job advertisements. At this stage it is not expected that the impact is great and growth may again change as it becomes clear what is happening in the Telco sector.

Early last year the ratio was in the order of 20%/80% (comms/IT). The growth during the past 12 months is now indicating a ratio of 25%/75%. During the last year when the combined (ICT) sector on other indexes was showing growth of 2-3%, it was being supported by growth of up to 10% for the Telco sector indicating IT ads were little more than stable.

Those finding it the hardest to secure employment in the telco sector at the moment are best described as being older with little or no understanding of Internet Protocols. Employment opportunities are best for those with diverse backgrounds or those with strong IP focus. Convergence specialists employed by telcos are in strong demand as more companies look to telcos to provide advanced network solutions.