Member Article

Contract vacancies in the West Midlands rise 14% year on year

Demand for professional contractors in the West Midlands increased by 14% year on year to May 2017 according to research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).

The data, provided by recruitment software company, Innovantage, revealed that in addition to the 14% uplift in contract vacancies, demand for permanent professionals also increased by 2% over the same period. Vacancies for professional contactors rose significantly across a number of sectors including construction and media & design, which enjoyed uplifts of 36% and 22% respectively.

Commenting on the data, Julie Selby, Membership Relations Manager at APSCo said:

“Following a number of consecutive months of optimism across the West Midlands, professional job availability has risen once more. The construction sector is again performing particularly well, thanks in part to ongoing infrastructure projects such as HS2, which has a large workforce in Birmingham, and has recently received the green light for the proposed line to be extended. Commercial developments in the region are also booming, which is having a positive impact on demand for specialist contractors. In Birmingham, for example, the amount of office space under construction has increased by 50% since last year to 1.4m sq. ft. according to Deloitte’s crane survey.”

“It is unsurprising that the media and design sector is also performing well. Birmingham is home to 6,000 tech firms employing nearly 40,000 people, with 25% of the UK’s gaming workforce based locally. According to Business Birmingham, digital tech firms boost the region’s economy by around £1.6bn every year, and favourable business rates mean it will continue to be an attractive destination for innovative start-ups moving forwards.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Association of Professional Staffing Companies .