The end of year figures roundup was particularly good news for umbrella IT contractors this year, with peopleperhour.com, Monster and Reed Recruitment all having something positive to add! Figures from online job site peopleperhour.com, which came out in mid December, showed a 612% increase across the board in UK businesses hiring IT contractors. Breaking this down, e-commerce, IT support and web programming specialists were some of the most sought after, with demand increasing by 105%, 95% and 70% respectively. Great news for IT specialist in these areas who operate through umbrella companies.

Peopleperhour.com’s figures were released just after the UK Monster Employment Index for November found that the IT sector has grown by 25% in the last year, putting it at the highest level in Monster’s growth rankings. Founder and Chief Executive Officer of peopleperhour.com, Xenios Thrasyvoulou, commented, “Our figures show that IT Consultants are in high demand over the run up to Christmas. Businesses are able to increase their margins using freelancers and make the most of the extra income to be made over the festive season.”

Lastly the Senior Divisional Director of Reed Recruitment, Andrew Gardner, gave his prediction for the first quarter of 2012 – noting that contractor demand has been rising ‘across the board’ and that this the trend will continue into the New Year, adding “Businesses almost can’t do without IT now. It’s not an optional service.” So all in all it’s looking like a bumper year for IT contractors who operate through umbrella companies!