Contractor’s rates of pay on the rise

The most recent Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG report has found that not only have contractor rates improved, but temp billings have also gone up.

The REC/KPMG’s Report on Jobs offers a widespread guide to the UK labour market by drawing on survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.

According to these latest findings, temp billings have increased at a significant rate, with growth close to the 15-month high seen two months ago. 

The report has also found that although there was a reduction in the availability of candidates, this has perhaps resulted in the sharp rise of contractor rates of pay, with the latest rise only marginally slower than July’s five-and-a-half year high.

With regards to both regional and sector variation, the Report on Jobs found that it was the Midlands that saw the fastest increase in temp billings. In the public sector, demand for temporary staff improved at the sharpest rate in the series history.

Growth of demand was broad-based across all nine temporary/contract staff sectors in the latest survey period, with engineering contractors being the most in demand.

REC CEO Kevin Green, said, “This month’s figures show the jobs market continues to be the success story in the UK economy with all regions and sectors experiencing growth.

Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG, comments, “Improved market conditions, higher activity levels amongst clients and generally stronger levels of confidence amongst employers are certainly one of the major factors underpinning the latest rise in placements.

“Only last week the Bank of England argued that recovery will only be sustainable over the long term if regions beyond London grow strongly.  The North is showing strongest growth (for permanent workers), with the Midlands driving a rise in temporary placements.  It’s a sign that local economies are picking up and gives hope that economic recovery is not dependent on one area or sector.”

How much could you be earning as a contractor? Type in your daily or hourly rate into our contractor calculator and see how much you could be taking home.

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