Contractors ''may have more luck in the private sector''

The private sector may offer contractors more opportunities.

Contractors looking for new job opportunities should turn to the private sector, a leading organisation has advised.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has published statistics showing that 31 per cent of employers are expecting to increase the number of temporary workers they use in the next 12 months, while 29 per cent predicted that their permanent workforce would also increase.

Roger Tweedy, director of research at the REC, has claimed that overall optimism in the labour market is suffering due to worries about the public sector but this will not affect long-term trends.

He said: "We know that certain sectors within the private sector are currently buoyant and expect growth to continue throughout 2010 and it is likely that this polarising effect will continue for a while."

Gerwyn Davies, public policy adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, recently questioned whether private sector growth would be sufficient to plug the gaps left by the contracting public sector