Demand for contractors sees moderate increase

There was a slight rise in the number of temporary placements last month, figures show.

Individuals using contractor umbrella companies were in greater demand last month, as figures show a rise in temporary placements.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs shows that there was a slight rise in temporary staff billings throughout August.

Furthermore, inflation of temporary staff hourly pay rates increased to a three-month high, signalling positivity for those in the contractor market.

Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, commented: "The figures also show that with a month to go before the introduction of new regulations covering agency workers that businesses continue to depend on and use this flexible resource."

He added that placements continued to rise throughout August, marking the 25th consecutive month in which growth was recorded.

Statistics from jobsadwatch.co.uk recently showed that between the first and second quarters of the year, the number of advertised positions for IT jobs increased by 2.3 per cent.