January recruitment slump just a seasonal ‘blip’
Contractors concerned that the recovery may be short-lived should keep their nerve, as seasonal factors have been blamed by the Monster Employment Index for the 8% fall in UK online recruitment activity in January 2010. IT, Engineering, management, marketing and construction opportunities all dipped, but telecoms showed a slight increase. More…
Financial services bucks the trend – vacancies rise by 54%
In contrast to Monster’s New Year dip, the Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor showed financial services opportunities rocketed up 54% in January, an increase of 60% compared to a year ago. This is good news for IT contractors as Andrew Evans of Morgan McKinley’s financial services division explains: “This month’s figures show a return to the slow but steady pattern of growth in financial services hiring that has been building up over the course of [20]09.” More….
Tory government could ‘reassess’ Agency Workers Regulations
Umbrella company contractors could be in for a reprieve if a future Tory government follows up its apparent pledge to reassess the Agency Workers Regulations currently before Parliament. Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance Jonathan Djanogly writes in his blog: “…we shall not only be opposing the early adoption of these regulations, but also making it clear that we reserve the right to reassess them in the event of a Conservative victory at the forthcoming Election.” More…
Agencies slammed for demanding security clearance
Agencies that require contractors to hold security clearance before being offered contracts are in breach of Cabinet Office guidelines, according to a joint statement by PCG, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and the Cabinet Office. John Brazier, managing director of PCG says: “Too many freelancers are finding their path blocked by inappropriate requests for existing clearance. This is not just against the Cabinet Office guidelines and detrimental to contractors, it’s also clearly harmful to end users who find themselves with a severely restricted pool of talent.” More…
UK manufacturing at 15 year peak
Good news for contractors in engineering and technical roles, as the Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)/Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Manufacturing in January rose to 56.7, up from 54.6 in December. It is now at its highest level since October 1994. Demand for workers in the sector is increasing, as CIPS CEO David Noble explains: “One of the most encouraging aspects of this month’s PMI is the turnaround on the jobs front. For the first time in 21 months there has been an increase in employment…” More…