Tue, 12 Nov 2013The UK’s economic downturn led to a more crowded contracting space, as well as an increase in demand for skilled temporary workers, finds umbrella company giant group.

This is according to giant’s newly-released ‘Temporary recruitment market report: what was the impact of the financial crisis’, available via the company’s website.

It shows that while there were more contractors in the market between 2006 and 2013, this outpaced an increase in opportunities, meaning greater gaps between assignments.

Other findings include:

• Post-recession there is a trend for contractors seeking more job security and longer term assignments

• Contracting in financial services saw a peak between 2009 and 2011 following the Financial Services Act 2010

• The engineering and construction sector was “one of the hardest-hit” areas for IT contracting opportunities

• Engineers in automotive were also “severely impacted”

• The finance sector is recognised as “one of the best examples of an industry that recognises the value of contractors during difficult times”.