Demand For IT Contractors Skyrockets

Last month saw demand for IT contractors shoot up; so much so that it surpassed the 15-year high of December 2013. September is known for being a busy month for IT Contractors, but Contract Calculator claims that the last time demand was at similar “stupendous” levels was at the end of last year.

In its ‘Report on Jobs’ this month, REC revealed that demand for temporary IT workers went up in August from a current index score of 65.6 to 66.2 in September – 2014’s peak thus far. This figure beats the levels of December last year of 66.1 which was, at this point, the highest reading since back in August 1998 (when it reached 67.3).

At 66.2 last month, it indicates that the appetite for temporary IT workers is at the strongest level for a staggering 193 months.

The REC says that these figures are a reflection of the “wider revival in the UK economy”, with a spokesman claiming that it’s all about businesses’ increasing need to have more tech staff, as well as having more confidence in the need to hire them in the first place.

According to Bernard Brown, head of business at KPMG, “the incentive for taking on temporary roles is strengthening”. The skills that are in demand in terms of IT are, in particular, Business Intelligence, Development, Java, .Net and PHP.

Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, has confirmed that technical professionals continue to be the most sought-after workers, but the shortage is spreading across other industries, too.