Contracting demand rises again

Topping the contract and temporary staff demand table are engineering and construction contractors, with blue-collar manufacturing workers and IT contractors firmly in third place. The latter have recovered strongly from the slump in IT contractor demand reported in October 2010. Hottest demand is for engineers, and on the IT front .Net developers and Java developers, according to recruiters.

"The latest data suggests again that the UK job market is on the road to recovery as growth of permanent placements remained solid and demand for staff rose strongly," explains Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG.

Brown continues: "A look at the sectors indicates that the private sector is mainly responsible for the overall positive picture."

Whether the private sector can sustain demand by creating new contracts and permanent positions to soak up available workers is the crucial question, as REC Chief Executive Kevin Green explains: "While these figures continued to show private sector employment doing well, the next few months will be very tough for the jobs market in the UK. With public sector cuts, the VAT rise and slowing economic growth, we expect to see businesses being much more cautious about hiring in the short term."

This uncertainty will continue to work in favour of contractors, who can provide a low risk alternative for organisations seeking to increase capacity in the short term, but that are unwilling to commit to increasing their permanent headcount.

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