A small increase in the hiring of contractors has been announced. Data released from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) reveals a one per cent increase of the employment of temporary work compared to the same period in 2014.
Contractors who specialise in finance and accounting saw a dramatic increase with a 9 per cent rise in this profession. Other professions including IT, engineering, media and marketing also had a higher demand for contractors than what was seen in the previous year.
Chief executive of APSCo, Ann Swain, commented:
“Contract vacancies within finance and accounting remain strong as organisations bring on board compliance specialists on a project basis to help manage legislation. UK job cuts within financial services, such as those announced by HSBC and Barclays in recent weeks look set to create further demand in the area as contractors are brought on board to cover gaps left by the loss of permanent positions.”
APSCo also confirmed pay increases across a number of professions, with average salaries rising by 6.2 per cent compared to last year. This increase varies between sectors, with finance specialists seeing their pay increase by an average of 5.5 per cent, while engineering workers had an average pay rise of around 6.6 per cent.
Furthermore, they released research including that from the Confederation of British Industry, which proved that the British economic expansion in the previous three months before May 2015 was at its strongest level for a year. Although, the latest labour market data from the Office for National Statistics (OTS) reported that employment in the UK fell by 67,000 between March and May this year. Overall, contractor prospects for the future is predicted to be largely positive, with further increases in hiring over the coming months.
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