Partner Article

Temporary vacancies in the West Midlands rise by 14% year on year

Demand for temporary professionals in the West Midlands has risen by 14% year on year to February 2017 according to research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).

The data, provided by recruitment software company, Innovantage, revealed that in addition to an uplift in temporary roles, permanent vacancies also held steady year on year to February. Demand for temporary professionals rose notably across a number of sectors including IT and manufacturing which recorded uplifts of 20% and 14% respectively.

Commenting on the data, Julie Selby, Membership Relations Manager at APSCo said:

“After months of positive hiring sentiment across the West Midlands, professional job availability in the temporary market has continued to rise. However, somewhat unsurprisingly, employers are exercising a degree caution in terms of permanent hiring activity as the government prepares to invoke Article 50 at the end of the month. APSCo’s findings sit above the national average, with recent figures from the Office for National Statistics revealing that overall employment remained stable, at 74.6%, in the three months to January 2017 – the joint highest since comparable records began.”

“Demand for temporary professionals is growing, notably in the IT sector, with professional job availability rising 20% year on year. This growth is no doubt partially as a result of the growing digital hubs within the region, in fact according to figures from TechCityUK’s ‘Tech Nation’ report, Birmingham already has a digital density of 18%. Temporary professionals are also being increasingly sought after in the manufacturing sector, and demand is likely to remain high with more than £35 million worth of funding being invested into supporting the development of a new industrial hub which is expected to create more than 2,500 new jobs.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Association of Professional Staffing Companies .