Partner Article

Job availability up 13% in the North West

Venn Group Contract Recruitment Index

April 2015

“Monitoring contractor demand across the North West”

Contract Recruitment Index highlights

• There was a 13% increase in jobs month-on-month
• Financial services sector has best first quarter since 2008
• NHS drives public sector job demand

Regional demand for professional talent falls

The April 2015 North West Recruitment Index recorded a 13% month-on-month increase in job availability with 2,036 vacancies advertised, compared to 2,667 in February 2015.

Stan Murray Hession, Associate Director of Venn Group, commented:

“Although there has been an overall increase in hiring activity across the board, the North West’s financial services sector stands out following its strongest first quarter since 2008. The volume of placements, ranging from entry level to top end, has been greatly boosted by a drive towards the use of contractors within this field. Rates are also being pushed up as organisations battle for top quality candidates amidst a climate of specialist skills shortages.

Also on the rise are positions within the NHS. There has been in a boom in demand for HR staff, for example, to look at medical recruitment practices and to revise and improve HR procedures in the wake of a series of “whistle-blowing” cases.”

Contractors’ rates decline due to record low inflation in February 2015

The average rate for those securing jobs in February 2015 was xx% lower than those recorded in February 2015, with contractors now receiving an average of £xx per hour across the region. This can be attributed, in part, xx

Stan Murray Hession continued:

“We have seen localised rate increases within many fields in the region, but particularly within the IT sector. As there is a general shift towards the use of contractors to fill positions within businesses, we see rates rise as organisations compete in the war for talent. There is also a new trend emerging of firms offering temp-to-perm contracts, which tend to offer higher rates as an attractive alternative to contracting.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Venn Group is the UK’s only specialist contract recruiter for organisations within the public and private sectors.

www.venngroup.com

Methodology

The Recruitment Index uses Venn Group’s own weekly records of new contract job vacancies. Statistics for the report are derived using Venn Group’s market share across each geographic region to ensure an accurate barometer of recruitment activity is recorded.

For further information please contact Stephanie King at BlueSky PR on 01582790700 or 07760208532

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Venn Group .