UK IT contractor rates up nearly 10 percent

In the last 12 months, the average IT contractor day rates have jumped 9.11 percent, and have hit £431, according to a new report by Experis. The Tech Cities Job Watch Survey says the UK’s Gig economy is picking up pace, with an almost double year-on-year growth in permanent salaries, up by 4.61 percent.

The "freelance dream", which includes higher pay and flexible hours is becoming a reality for a larger number of people, as now 15 percent of the UK workforce works solo. There is now more demand for solo workers, than there is for permanent workers -- 2.23 percent against 1.95 percent.

"Gig working and digital platforms make it very easy for tech professionals to go freelance and for employers to tap into global talent. With their skills highly sought after, IT experts can demand a premium as well as have their pick of projects", says Geoff Smith, managing director at Experis.

"This trend is only set to rise. Sixty-nine percent of IT managers will become increasingly reliant on temp staff to plug the growing skills gap and they believe 28 percent of their workforce needs to be employed on a contingent basis to achieve tech transformation. As we navigate through times of uncertainty following Brexit, a flexible workforce that can be quickly scaled up or down will be more attractive too", adds Smith.

Cloud has seen the biggest year-on-year growth in day rates (11.34 percent), followed by IT security (4.98 percent), and mobile (3.49 percent).

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Future plc Publication. All rights reserved.

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