The financial services sector has leapfrogged the public sector to regain its traditional position as the UK's biggest employer of IT contractors, reveals research by contractor specialist giant group plc. The public sector moves down to second place.
According to the latest giant Contractor Confidence Index (CCI), 21.2% of IT contractors (19.9% six months ago) now work in financial services compared to 20.5% in the public sector (20.5% six months ago).
Matthew Brown, Managing Director, giant group plc, comments: " Six months ago the public sector employed more IT contractors than financial services - for the first time in its history - but it now looks as if the natural order has been restored and the City is once again asserting its dominance."
However, giant warns that with the City's requirements for IT contractors growing, and unemployment among IT contractors very low, the public sector may find it increasingly difficult to recruit IT staff and secure the skills it needs.
Matthew Brown says: "There aren't many out of work IT contractors for the City to pick up so it's becoming a question of who will it poach from."
It will be particularly tough for the public sector to compete with the City....
Matthew Brown - MD giant group
"It will be particularly tough for the public sector to compete with the City on pay and benefits, but if it doesn't it could face skills shortages. E-government projects tend to be heavily reliant on a number of key individuals who can be very hard to replace."
In general, wages are on the up in contracting, according to giant. This year, 70 per cent of contractors said their wages had risen, compared to last year, when 45 per cent said the same thing.
Only 6.7 per cent of contractors have seen their wages drop this year - a dramatic jump from 2003, when 28 per cent had seen their wages shrink.
The results of the survey show that confidence among IT contractors is at its highest level since the survey began nearly two years ago.
Sources:
onrec.com
silicon.com