London now accounts for four in every 10 of all new IT jobs in the UK, according to research from technology recruiter ReThink Recruitment.

Before the recession in June 2008, London accounted for 34% of all IT jobs created in the UK.

According to ReThink, as well as growth in demand in financial services, London is also benefiting from a boom in social networking IT start-ups. 

Michael Bennett, director at ReThink, says: “London is quickly emerging as a major hub for high-tech IT start-ups – with several heavy hitters including Cisco and Google recently investing in Shoreditch [East London]. In comparison with other high-tech centres, London still offers relatively cheap rents and has consequently attracted very specialised tech firms looking to recruit qualified IT candidates.

“Venture capital firms – who are key funders for most of these tech start-ups – are increasingly finding that investments in Silicon Valley are often over-priced. With speculative talk of a second dotcom bubble, many are deciding that Europe and London in particular is a safer place to invest.”