IT contractors with data governance skills and cloud security experts are “hugely in demand and right now can command a daily rate of as much as £1,000”.
This is according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for the first quarter of 2014, which also highlights that demand for mobile is also growing, and that growth is likely to accelerate.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of jobs needed to fill posts in the IT sector compared with this time last year,” says ManpowerGroup UK managing director Mark Cahill.
“It’s becoming clear that in sectors like banking the future will involve smartphones and banking apps rather than branches and tellers – and the impact of that technological shift is already being felt.”
In contrast to many contemporary labour market surveys, Manpower’s findings show that hiring in the core contracting sector of construction is predicted to fall in the first quarter of 2014, despite the apparent housing boom reported elsewhere in the media.
“The [construction] sector fell by a percentage point for the second quarter running and is firmly rooted in negative territory at -6%, contrary to other indicators which suggest that hiring proceeds apace,” reports Manpower.
Manpower’s finance and business services category, which accounts for financial contractors and other disciplines such as IT, engineering and management, is slightly weaker but still in growth territory.
“Hiring prospects for Quarter 1 2014 in the Finance sub-sector are cautiously optimistic,” notes Manpower.
“In the business services sub-sector, employers forecast a respectable hiring pace. However, hiring plans weaken by four percentage points quarter-over-quarter and by three percentage points year-over-year,” it adds.
Manufacturing and the utilities are forecast to perform well, with strong hiring anticipated. However, the roles predicted by Manpower to arise in the utilities sector are more employee and temp focused, with less demand for contractors.
Regionally, whereas London has been the jobs powerhouse throughout 2013, demand for contractors in the capital has shrunk. The report says the English regions are “making up the shortfall” as “for the first time in six years every region in the UK is showing a positive outlook”.