The contractor and freelancer market north of the border is burgeoning, according to a recent temporary working report published by the Bank of Scotland.
October saw increases to the number of temporary billings in the country, according to the Bank’s latest monthly job report Glasgow turned out to be the most robust market for freelancers, umbrella company contractors, and other interim workers, and that the Labour Market Barometer, a measure of overall job confidence, increased as well, up to 53.6 from September’s 52.3 figure.
This new figure is a five month high for the Labour Market Barometer, according to Bank of Scotland’s chief economist, Donald MacRae, indicating that the number of people working both temporary and permanent jobs are on the rise. The number of job opportunities have also increased, with an additional number of job postings in comparison to September’s figures, Mr MacRae added.
While the summer months felt the effects of the economic slowdown quite keenly, the chief economist said, the Scottish labour market has already made marked improvements since July, which was quite a low point in employment figures for both permanent and contract workers. However, the increase in overall demand over the past few months has been uneven sector-by-sector, as even though computer experts and IT contractors were a highly sought after commodity during this time, Scotland’s demands for finance and accounting workers declined by a slight but noticeable margin, indicating a shift away from the finance sector in favour of high technology.
