The forecasts of a potential slowdown in the high-tech sector have proven unfounded. Figures presented by employment agency see.V show salaries in the industry are continuing to rise. Average monthly salaries in the first quarter of 2016 climbed 1.4% compared to the fourth quarter of 2015 to a pre-tax NIS 23,975.
The latest increase is part of a long term trend, with industry wages rising by nearly 10% from the end of 2014 - a climb which was only suspended shortly in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The company said the first quarter is often weak; it believes the average salary will cross the NIS 24,000 mark in the second quarter. Alongside the optimistic expectations were figures that presented an 8.9% drop in the number of new positions created in the first quarter of the year, compared to the fourth quarter of 2015.
CEO Merav Laifer said, “In past months, high-tech companies were still in the stages of finalizing their budgets for 2016 and postponed the creation of new positions.” She added: “The numbers do not point to a slowdown of any kind, not even a minor one. The market is still hot and good candidates are snapped up. As we see it, we are not sensing any salary depression in the leading subsector we are actually seeing a comprehensive climb.”
The most popular subsector in the passing quarter was DevOps - which handles the development and operations. Salaries of such employees jumped 26.7% in a single quarter from NIS 22,500 to NIS 28,500. Mobile developers, which saw the second highest increase last quarter, had their compensation increase by an average of 13.8% from NIS 22,500 to NIS 25,600.
Laifer addressed the overall trends in the industry: “At the end of the last quarter, the slight drop in salaries for developers of all kinds raised the concern of a bubble burst or the beginning of a slowdown, but then the first quarter lifted our worries. Its figures concretely proved the Israeli high-tech sector still has an appetite for local talent and companies are more than willing to pay them well.
“Already in this quarter, which only started this month, we are seeing the trend continue by the dozens of new jobs made available in less than two weeks. We have also successfully placed applicants in a wide-variety of roles at a higher wage than listed last quarter.”
Most jobs are in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area
The growing demand for employees has led companies to compromise in certain instances on employees with relatively little experience. Laifer said: “All of our clients are always looking for ‘stars’, ‘aces’, ‘ninjas’, ‘superstars’, and a slew of other nicknames, but I must sell the positions in these companies both small and large to candidates with less experience. But all we need is to show them proof of excellence whether it be a diploma with honors or the applicants’ experience developing in their free time.”
The see.V analysts also examined the breakdown of high-tech positions based on area. The figures show the Startup Nation continues to center around Tel Aviv. Some 40% of the new positions were available in Tel Aviv, 16% in Herzliya, 14% in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area, and nearly 6% in Petah Tikva.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 13, 2016
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2016