Guide to the latest IT Contractor Rates

The latest release of the Monster Employment Index UK shows that job openings in two of the industries most closely associated with contracting, IT and engineering, are growing strongly, despite the ongoing uncertainty in the overall jobs market.

According to the survey, which measures online job availability across all industry sectors in the UK, the number of engineering roles has increased by 24% over the past 12 months, with IT not far behind on 19%.

On the flip side, many sectors have not fared as well over the past year - with management and consulting down 15%, and education and marketing roles slipping by around 5% since January 2011. Public sector roles have also registered negative growth, following nationwide job cuts.

The fastest growing regions over the past year, according to online job postings, were the Midlands (up 19%), Northern Ireland (10%) and the South West (7%). The South East and North of England registered zero growth, with just Wales registering a contraction of 2%.

Commenting on the January figures, Michael Gentle from Monster UK said that the economic uncertainty in the Eurozone was taking its toll on UK recruitment:

"While the Index still registers annual gains of one percent in January, the rate of growth has slowed down from the six percent pace in December.

"Despite this, companies are still actively hiring, with opportunities for professionals in a number of sectors like Engineering and IT."

For contractors, this is more reassuring news. Over the past year, all market reports have shown that the demand for IT skills continues to grow, with companies finding it ever-harder to find true IT specialists.