Surge in demand for IT contractors during third quarter

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Surge in demand for IT contractors during third quarter

Posted Oct 30, 2009

The demand for IT contractors has jumped significantly over the last quarter, rebounding from one of the worst dips in demand ever recorded, although average rates are slightly down on last year.

The latest SSL survey for the third quarter of 2009 shows that all signs point to a recovery in the contracting market, after over 18 months of successive declines. Average contract rates are down just 1.1% on the same period in 2008.

It is well understood that contractors are usually the first out the door when downturns occur - this was certainly the case during the last two major recessions (the early 1990's and the post-dot com crash), however the survey's authors point out that the rate at which IT contractor jobs dried up over the past year was faster than at any time in the survey's 22 year history.

Given the pace of decline in the market, it is perhaps inevitable that we have witnessed a large, immediate rebound in demand for IT contractors over the past three months, to levels seen at the start of the year.

It is worth pointing out that, although this recovery is encouraging, the level of demand for IT contractors still remains down 61% on its peak two years ago.

You can read more about the latest survey findings, and further statistics here

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