The number of IT job vacancies is plummeting in both the UK and the US, according to research published this week.

A report conducted by KPMG and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation found that demand for IT workers dropped steeply in March 2009 compared with last year.

The report uses an index to measure demand for workers in various sectors, with the number 50 signifying flat growth. In March 2008, the index figure for permanent IT staff was 52.4; in 2009, it fell to 31.9. For temporary IT staff, the index fell from 55.6 in March 2008 to the same figure, 31.9, this year.

It must be said that the report found that most other sectors were even worse off than IT. Indeed, demand for IT staff was actually the second-highest out of all sectors, behind nursing and healthcare workers.

Meanwhile, in the US, demand for IT workers is expected to shrink by 1.2%, having consistently grown by at least 2.5% for a number of years, according to research company Forrester.

Around half of IT staff employed in the US work in the finance and services sectors, which have been hit hardest by the credit crunch, Forrester said.