Turnover recovers in computer branch

Turnover in thee computer branch is on its way up again. In the first quarter of 2005 it was nearly 6 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2004. This is now the fourth successive quarter that turnover has risen in this branch compared with twelve months previously. With an average turnover increase of 6 percent in the last three quarters, the computer branch is now doing better than the economy as a whole.

Gross national product, computer branch

The computer branch has been experiencing a long period of high growth rates. In the second half of the nineties turnover in this branch increased by 15 to 30 percent per year. In 2000 and 2001 growth was around 10 percent after which turnover plummeted in 2002 and 2003. From the second quarter of 2004, however, it picked up again.

Turnover computer branch

More vacancies

Developments on the labour market also show that the branch is recovering. Since the end of 2003 there has been a clear upward trend in the demand for hardware and software staff in the computer sector. In the first quarter of 2005 the number of job vacancies was more than twice as large as in the same period in 2004.

Higher demand for workers, reflected in the rising number of job vacancies in the computer branch, is accompanied by an increasing turnover growth rate. Both indicators show that the computer branch is picking up.

Turnover and job vacancies in the computer branch

In addition to job vacancies, newly created jobs are also a clear sing of recovery in the branch. Following ten quarters in which the number of new jobs was around 2 to 3 thousand, in both of the last two quarters of 2004 4 thousand new jobs were created. In the first quarter of 2005 this number even rose to 8 thousand, the highest number in this branch since the first quarter of 2001.

Branislav Mikulic and Paul Ras