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Agency reports slump in IT contractor numbers

Published on Jul 21, 2009 | | Contract Rate Checker

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Leading IT staffing company, SThree, has announced its interim results for the six months ended 31 May 2009.

The company is one of the leading IT recruitment firms in the UK. Founded in 1986 with the brand name Computer Futures, the firm operates through some well known brands such as FS Group (Computer Futures / JP Gray), Huxley Associates, Progressive and RPMG.

Contractor numbers slump

During the six months to the end of May 2009, SThree made 3,302 permanent placement - a drop of 34.1% on the same period in 2008.

At the half year, the company had 4,494 contractors on its books - which represented a 21.8% drop on its 2008 figures (5,743 contractors).

Interestingly, despite having a smaller number of contractors "on contract", SThree managed to increase a 10.8% increase on its average daily rate profit margin - up from £79.11 to £87.67.

Permanent market even worse

Although these figures represent a significant slump in the contracting market for one of the leading recruitment agencies in the UK, the contracting side of the business made up 58% of SThree's total business over the period (up from 52%) and has fared better than the permanent side of the business.

The company says that this shift is "explained partly by a natural move towards contract hiring in a difficult market and by a larger contract contribution from our continental European teams. This in turn reflects the increasing acceptance of the temporary staffing model in territories such as Germany."