According to latest data from the REC, the recruitment industry in the UK grew by 25% in the last 12 months and a lot of this growth can be attributed to the increase in demand for PAYE umbrella company contractors.
Turnover from permanent placements was £2.5 billion – 37% up on the previous 12 months, but turnover from temporary assignments leapt up to £22 billion from £17.4 billion.
There were more than a million temporary placements in the 12-month period, compared to 879,000 in the previous 12 months.
Kevin Green, the chief executive of the REC, said that the recruitment market is still tough, but it is vital that UK businesses recognise the importance of having a flexible, highly skilled workforce.
Employers are understandably nervous about hiring full-time permanent members of staff at a time when the European economy seems to be crumbling. But strangely enough, this doesn’t seem to be translating into more opportunities for IT contractors.
In its latest Report on Jobs, the REC said IT contractor demand fell to a low of 52.1. Although this is up on the corresponding period last year, demand for temporary IT workers has now been falling for seven consecutive months.
However, demand for permanent IT staff is on the rise and KPMG, the co-author of the Report, said this was the one positive piece of news to come out of the latest research.
REC members are still struggling to find suitably qualified candidates to fill both full-time and temporary roles in Java Development and they have also had to contend with a shortage of freelance Business Analysts.
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