News Article List

According to the January UK Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), UK Service Sector growth increased in the survey’s history, putting the Index at its highest level for 10 months. Described by the report as the ‘single largest monthly improvement in business optimism in the history of the survey’, the figures are certainly good news for contractors who work through umbrella companies in the UK service sector. This rise was described as the ‘strongest in just under four years’ of the survey’s history.

Umbrella contractors that have clients in export and manufacturing sectors will be pleased to see December’s UK Trade figures and the Index of Production which have been published by the Office for National Statistics. These figures show that manufacturing output increased by 2.1% in December 2011 when compared to the same month the previous year. At the same time, the ‘balance of trade deficit’ in the UK has decreased to its lowest level since April 2003. This is seen as being due to increased exports of both services and goods.

New research from top recruiter Manpower has identified umbrella contractors as a key part of future global development, citing them as ‘a core component of the contingent workforce’ which will help companies to succeed in the ‘human age’. These research findings were presented at the World Economic Forum (WEF) by Jeff Joerres, Manpower’s Group Chairman and CEO.

UK oil and gas contractors working through umbrella companies have some excellent news in the pipeline, with recent drilling successes being announced in the Falkland Islands. In fact, industry experts have said that around  8.3 billion barrels will come from the Falkland Islands’ waters in 2012, a figure that is three times the UK reserves. One of the three wells around the islands has been ranked as ‘among the world’s top 15 offshore prospects this year’ by Morgan Stanley, with Evan Calio, one of their analysts, commenting that “The area is underexplored and highly prospective.

New figures released this week by Jobsadwatch made very interesting reading for IT umbrella contractors, with over 25% more IT contracts becoming available in the last quarter of 2011 when compared to the same time frame in 2010. Financial institutions and software development houses led the way in this growth, showing a 5.1% increase when compared to Q3 of 2011. So when you compare this to the same figures for permanent staff 0 with demand growing at just 1.5% it’s easy to see why contractors who work through umbrella companies have reason to be optimistic for 2012.

We were pleased to see the recent announcement from Hewlett Packard that it has confirmed a 50% increase in the number of small IT firms and contractors that it plans to sub-contract work to – something which will come as welcome news for umbrella IT contractors across the UK. HP is the Government’s largest IT contractor, and until now it has sub-contracted public sector work to around 600 smaller IT companies and individuals, including contractors who work through umbrella companies.

There was more good news this week for umbrella contractors who work in the oil industry, especially those based in the North of England, as a large oil drilling project has been given the go-ahead. The work, which will take place between the villages of Walkington and Bishop Burton, will involve drilling one and a half miles into the Yorkshire countryside with a view to discovering a new fuel source.

There was cause for cheer for our Scottish clients this week in light of the December Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs – which clearly shows that umbrella contractors working in IT and engineering have nothing to worry about this year. Contractors who operate through umbrella companies will be heartened by the figures, which show that Scotland is outperforming the UK – and as the report confirms, Scotland has ‘strong IT and robust engineering contractor demand’ which has kept it in positive growth during the last quarter of 2011.

We read with interest the latest Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) report which came out this week. According to the report, 75% of UK organisations are experiencing difficulty filling vacancies and 72% stated that this is principally caused by a lack of specialist skills - highlighting a huge opportunity for contractors who work through an umbrella company. The report, which is considered to be a ‘barometer’ of HR prospects and trends, also found that management, technical and professional positions are proving to be the most difficult to fill.

Recent comments by Universities and Science Minister David Willetts made exciting reading this week. In a recent speech he announced expansion in the UK’s science and engineering base, which will provide new opportunities for since and technology based umbrella contractors well into the decade!

The 2012 ‘predictions’ have begun, and we found the one from The Centre for Retail Research especially interesting! According to The Centre, by 2015 at least 25% of all online purchases will be made using mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, which is great news for umbrella contractors with specialist skills in the m-commerce arena.

We were applauding a new initiative from the REC this week, which seeks to make those working in Government more aware of how flexible workers such as umbrella contractors can help the UK economy in 2012 and beyond! The new Flexible Work Commission which has been launched by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation has been designed to highlight the benefit of ‘skilled flexible workers’ to people working within Government, so that they can more fully understand how these workers can add benefit for employers across the UK.

We were pleased to note that he most recent Monster Employment Index (MEI) has shown that online demand for both IT and engineering skills increased in November and also showed significant year on year demand. IT contractors working through umbrella companies saw an increase in demand for their skills of 25%, whilst engineering skills were the most highly sought after, with an increase of 32% since the same month last year. These figures clearly show that despite the ongoing uncertainly at an overall level, core contracting disciplines are, as ever, still performing well.

IT contractor John Spencer is left with a tax bill for £141,000 following a four year IR35 battle with HMR&C. Read more on the case here - http://www.contractorumbrella.com/jlj_services_vs_hmrc.html