SQ Computer Personnel, a recruitment agency that specialises in jobs for IT contractors, said recently that it received more new instructions in March this year than it had in any other month during the last two years.
The founder of the company, Bernie Potton, whilst obviously delighted with the extra business, said it was too early to tell with this was the start of an upward trend.
He could well be right to feel cautious. Hudson, a recruitment firm that hires nationwide, said that IT contractor billings in the first quarter of this year were down on the comparable period last year. Hudson’s experience is that IT contractors are only being used for business critical and niche technology projects at the moment.
Stuart Rogers, Hudson’s associate director in charge of IT recruitment, said clients are adopting a more cautious approach when it comes to taking on contractors. They believe they can make significant savings by replacing contractors with permanent members of staff.
That sentiment was echoed by ReThink Recruitment’s Michael Bennett who said his company has also witnessed an increase in demand for permanent IT staff and a corresponding decrease in demand for temps and contractors. A lot of the recruitment drives ReThink is running at the moment are focussed on replacing contractors, he added.
IT contractors are increasingly looking to extend their current contracts due to the lack of new opportunities. Instead of trying to negotiate a new rate, they are agreeing to the same terms, and in some cases agreeing to work longer hours.
The IT jobs market seems to have become more client-driven. We’re seeing a decrease in demand and an increase in supply. The laws of economics say that when this happens prices go down and that’s exactly what’s happening with contractor rates.
© 2012 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Image: Red Arrows by peter pearson
