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| CURRENT SECTION :: Market Reports | UK's most visited IT Contractor Site - 250k unique visitors March 2008 |
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UK IT contractors have experienced a surge in hourly rates with professionals now earning a five per cent increase since the start of 2004. This is according to a survey by iProfileStats for the Association of Technology Staffing companies, which found that the last six months of the year were the most lucrative. Yet rates for IT contractors in the third quarter of 2002 took a dive until the third quarter of the following year, when rates slowly recovered from a 10 per cent decrease in value. Since the start of 2004, the median hourly contract has risen by 5 per cent to £38 per hour, serving to recover half of the losses incurred from the downturn post-2000. Strong client demand for contract professionals has now led to a significant shortage of freelance, contracted and temporary IT expertise. “The results of the iProfile Index, which shows an increase in contract rates, is consistent with the views of many of the UK’s leading IT recruitment companies,” said Alex Charles, Director of iProfileStats. “We have seen a decline in the number of CVs being sent by IT professionals in response to job adverts over the last few months and we believe this is due to the fact that the supply of candidates is being soaked up by demand.” He said that the market recovery in contract rates is being lead by finance, government, engineering, energy and manufacturing sectors. Meanwhile, the permanent market has been more stagnant and has kept a median annual salary of £33,000, since the third quarter of last year. Both sectors have seen increased demand from employers and agencies alike during 2004, ensuring recruitment processes into 2005 will continue to be hampered by skill shortages. Ann Swain, chief executive of ATSCo, said this is likely to force upward pressure on rates, after an already prosperous six-month period for IT contractors. “I believe 2005 will see the market strengthen further as demand for IT professionals continues to increase. This will mean that companies will be under increased pressure to raise pay rates and staff retention will once again become a key issue.” Ms Swain added that already the contract market has less “good candidates,” as skill shortages emerge in a number of areas. The survey also found that the number of IT professionals who are out of work is continuing to decrease. Since the start of 2004, the percentage of respondents claiming they are unemployed has decreased from 16 per cent to 10 per cent. This is in sharp contrast to the first few months of 2003 when just over one quarter of respondents (26 per cent) reported they were out of work. Jan 13, 2005 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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