Contractor demand in Scotland continued to grow during February 2013. The latest Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs shows that contractor vacancies have now shown growth for 40 successive months, despite a slight slowdown in growth due to “softer client demand”.
“The rate of growth in vacancies for temporary jobs remained strong, although slowing to a three-month low,” explains Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae.
IT contractors benefitted most from the ongoing client demand, as Scotland’s IT and computing sector “posted the strongest rise, with the rate of increase the fastest since May 2012”.
Engineering, knocked from its January top spot in the contractor demand league table by IT and computing, was still very much in growth territory, but “saw slower rates of expansion”.
The upbeat prospects in IT and engineering were not mirrored in other core contracting disciplines. The interim market in Scotland contracted for the first time in seven months, with the report’s executive and professional category dropping to joint fourth.
The accounting and financial contractor category dropped into sixth place. Scotland’s financial sector, which had appeared to have turned a corner in January by returning to growth territory for the first time in five months, fell back. “The rate of decline was the fastest in seven months,” noted the report.
Contractor availability increased for the first time since June 2012. This may be explained by the dynamics of the permanent labour market in Scotland, where placements have fallen for the first time in six months. The increase in availability may be down to former employees choosing contracting as a stopgap between permanent jobs.
Contractor pay rates also fell sharply, “with the overall rate of decline solid and the fastest in two-and-a-half years”. Overall, the combination of slowing billings and vacancies, increased availability and falling rate points to a market in a state of flux.
MacRae warns that could mean Scotland’s contracting market may get worse again before it gets better: “These results highlight the fragility of the recovery from the recession.”