Despite a 21% drop in public sector job postings in the last quarter, CWJobs.co.uk and JobAdsWatch.co.uk reveal that overall the IT jobs market for permanent staff has increased at its fastest rate for over three years.

For the fourth consecutive quarter there has been an increase in the number of jobs advertised, with 8% more since March 2010.

Since the government braced the nation for a high number of public sector job cuts, 21% fewer public sector jobs have been advertised and public sector job posts have dropped from fourth to fifth place in sector rankings. However, contract work in the public sector remains relatively buoyant.

Permanent job postings for the financial and media sectors continue to grow, with an 8% and 12% increase respectively.

Richard Nott, website director of CWJobs, says: “We were all aware that the IT sector would be affected by public sector cutbacks, but it’s encouraging to see that overall job postings are continuing to increase.

“With contract work still available at the moment, there are opportunities in the public sector for those willing and able to be flexible.”