Contractor demand growth increased for yet another month in Scotland during December 2013, with signs that the UK’s financial sector at both ends of the UK are rapidly recovering, alongside those of financial and IT contractors.
These are the conclusions from two December 2013 labour market surveys of the contract market: the Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs, which shows contractor billings increased at a three-year high; and Morgan McKinley’s London Employment Monitor, which highlights a 51% year-on-year increase in City vacancies.
“The number of people appointed to both permanent and temporary jobs rose sharply while the number of vacancies increased strongly, reflecting strong demand from employers,” notes Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae.
Despite December 2013’s London financial centres labour market conditions deteriorating sharply compared to the previous month, Morgan McKinley Financial Services operations director Hakan Enver blamed the fall on seasonal conditions, and was upbeat about the prospects for 2014.
“As we predicted in last month’s monitor,” says Enver, “City recruitment is always faced with a number of challenges during December. The situation was further exacerbated by the fact that certain institutions were encouraging their contractor population to take extended days leave in order to maintain their cost base.
He continues: “Year-on-year the statistics for both hiring and active job seekers are still very encouraging, with levels up 51% and 45% respectively.Moreover, historically we see a massive boost in City recruitment come January, and 2014 looks to be no different.”
The UK’s financial sector is the largest consumer of IT contractor services outside of the software industry, so the fortunes of IT contractors closely mirror those of financial centres such as London and Edinburgh.
Further evidence for the financial sector recovery can be found in the Report on Jobs, which shows that accounts and financial contractors have moved up a place into sixth place in the demand league table, and IT contractors moved from third into second place.
During December 2013, the rate of both contractor and permanent employee appointments and the greatest increase in contractor rates were strongest in Edinburgh, which is one of the UK’s leading financial centres.
MacRae concludes: “These results show business confidence in Scotland is on the increase and suggest the recovery will continue in 2014.”