Contractors in Scotland are finding themselves working in an increasingly two-speed market. The financial sector in Edinburgh and Dundee’s video gaming centre are rapidly outpacing the faltering oil and gas industry in Aberdeen.
This is according to the latest Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs, which also highlights the availability of contractor candidates has fallen sharply during May, alongside an increase in rates of pay and contractor agency billings.
“Scotland’s contracting sector is performing strongly except for oil and gas,” highlights ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin. “Demand, vacancies, agency billings and rates of pay are all strongly positive – the only negative is contractor availability, which could impact on the availability of skills if it does not improve.
“This is a reversal of the softening Scottish contract market of a few months back and a clear call to action for contractors in UK regions that are performing less well to consider a move to Scotland.”
Chief Economist at Bank of Scotland Donald MacRae notes: “The number of people placed into work rose accompanied by an increase in both permanent and temporary vacancies. The rate of increase in permanent starting salaries was strong while hourly pay rates for temporary staff increased for the second month in a row.”
Every Scottish region except for oil and gas capital Aberdeen saw an increase of contractor agency billings, with Dundee and Edinburgh experiencing the joint fastest rate. This reflects the growing strength of the gaming and financial sectors, which are UK centres of excellence.
In contrast, Scotland’s interim sector continues to perform poorly – demand in the executive and professional category contracted for fifth month in succession and at the sharpest rate since July 2013.
More positively the core contracting disciplines of IT & computing and engineering are in first and third place respectively in the contractor demand league tables. Accounts and financial is in sixth place, but still well into growth territory.
MacRae concludes: “These results show the Scottish economy recovering some of the growth momentum lost in January this year.”