Employers in the IT services industry (either software or outsourcing services) have almost doubled the headcount during the crisis, from fewer than 22,000 in 2008 to more than 38,000 in 2013. National Statistics Institute data show that the IT service industry is getting close to the telecom industry in terms of employee numbers, and is already paying higher salaries.
Why this constant increase in the number of IT employees and the stagnation of telecom jobs?
“The local telecom industry has already reached maturity, it has no more room for growth, while software and outsourcing companies create products and services for an international market, which is why demand for skills to develop software is really high,” explained Andrei Pitis, chairman of the software industry association (ANIS).
“The number of IT employees will continue to increase because of higher demand in Romania than in other countries like UK, for instance, where salaries are higher.”
Romania’s economy lost almost 740,000 jobs, mainly from the private sector during the crisis, but companies have been hiring again in the last two years. The IT industry has been the biggest employer of the crisis and the brand good programmers created for Romania attracted new investments in the business, even though not just in software development but also in outsourcing conducted by multinationals in the software industry in Romania.
”Demand is really high and people noticed it and more and more of them started to get into the industry. Technologies are much more diverse. New programming languages are introduced every day,” said Oana Iordachescu, recruitment consultant with IT&C recruitment firm Brainspotting.
Telecom industry employee salaries increased by 15% on average in 2008-2012, below the inflation, and the average net salary reached almost 3,000 lei (EUR676) last year.
The salaries of programmers or of those developing software for foreign companies increased by a higher percentage, considering the average net salary in the IT industry reached more than RON3,600 last year, up 40% on 2008, according to the National Statistics Institute.
The net salaries of those in this industry are actually higher, as many employers also use other ways of salary payment besides employment contracts. IT employees have therefore become the highest paid of the entire economy surpassing even bankers, who used to be on the top spot during the boom days. A junior software developer without any working experience makes EUR700 to EUR800 per month (at least double the average wage in Romania, EUR350), while a senior software developer may earn as much as over EUR2,500 to EUR3,000 per month, according to the information on the recruitment market. (EUR1=RON4,4391)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)