ITWire

Mr Oostveen said that more likely the demand for executive level IT skills was coming from enterprises which were grappling with the integration of user owned IT equipment and increasingly virtualised enterprise infrastructure.

Virtualisation has already been fingered as a technology which can inject extra layers of management into IT departments.

Nevertheless a surge of 37 per cent in IT executive demand is not to be sniffed at, whatever the reason for it.

But it's also a signal of just how fickle demand for IT skills can be as just a month ago E.L.Consult was describing IT executive demand as the 'joker in the pack' for its sluggish performance. During March while demand for executives in general rose 5 per cent demand for IT executives dropped 7 per cent.

April meanwhile has been a bumper month - at least in IT. Demand for executives in general fell back 1 per cent during the month according to the Index.

Executive demand is generally considered a leading indicator for broader recruitment trends and as such bodes poorly for the ICT sector's near term job market. The E.L. Index tracks executive positions advertised online and in the print media.

Demand for IT executives was particularly strong in NSW and Victoria. Demand in Queensland and WA meanwhile dropped off during the month according to the report.