Up close and Parasol

The current situation in Greece and the EU might have cast a dark cloud of the UK economy but we could also start to see the green shoots of recovery we keep being told about to finally take root.

A number of recent reports have all published promising figures for flexible workers. For example, the REC’s latest JobsOutlook report shows that 82 per cent of employers are planning to either maintain or increase their use of temporary staff in both the short and longer term. Although this is slightly down on last month, the data confirms that the vast majority of businesses are not planning to reduce their use of agency staff despite the Agency Worker Regulations coming into force earlier this month.

In a separate report from Jobsadswatch.co.uk, their analysis of the last quarter has shown that the number of contractor openings advertised over the past 3 months is up 5%. These figures are heavily influenced by London and the South of the country as the number of roles advertised in the North West and North East have seen small drops. Nationally, the number of public sector roles has also decreased as Government cuts take hold.

The statistics only give us a small piece of the picture though and you have to speak to the people on the ground to get an accurate portrayal of what is really going on out there. So what is your experience? Are you currently chasing an extension to your current assignment, what have you got on the horizon and what feedback are you getting from agents or your peers?

Leave a comment on below and let us know what you think. If you are a Parasol employee, don’t forget you can join the debate via the Parasol Contractors Network on LinkedIn and if you join the group this month you will automatically go into our November prize draw with a chance to win one of three fabulous food and wine hampers just in time for Christmas.