Further analysis shows that for the first time in 18 months, contracting vacancies in Ireland has seen a significant boost – increasing by 29% this year.
According to job vacancy data, industries that saw the biggest increase in contract or interim hiring in Q2 were legal (+58%), HR (+30%), secretarial and business support (+30%), and accounting and finance (+11%).
High hourly pay
For professional industries such as the law, “higher hourly pay” was the leading reason why employees would consider contracting.
Sarah Owens, director of Walters People, Dublin says: “Around 17% of the Irish working population are self-employed. Ten years ago, this number would have been significantly lower.
“This shift is not down to any one generation but is an indicator of where the mind-set of the workforce is moving.
Corporate structures
“Work life balance, reticence to be part of corporate structures, lack of training or progression, unpaid overtime, exposure to new industries and the desire to seek out interesting project-type work are just a few of the common reasons we often hear from professionals who have made the contract-role switch or would like too.”
The desire to contract is most prevalent for professionals in technology & IT (48%), procurement and supply chain (46%), and banking and financial services (45%).
For the creative industries (36%) – such as marketing, advertising and PR – “more flexibility” was the leading reason why employees would consider contracting or interim work.
Professionals in the service sector (30%) – such as education and retail – considered contract work as an opportunity to “learn new skills”.
Temp work
Employees in people-focused roles (25%) – such as HR, healthcare, and secretarial and business support – saw interim and temp work as an opportunity to ‘gain experience across a variety of industries’.
According to job vacancy data, industries that saw the biggest increase in contract or interim hiring in Q2 were legal (+58%), HR (+30%), secretarial and business support (+30%), and accounting and finance (+11%).
Flexible
“It’s fantastic to see that companies are now realising the benefits of contractors and a flexible workforce, rather than seeing it as a response to climate or business conditions.
"Quick-turnaround projects, access to specialised skills and expertise, and reduction of lag time between hiring and full productivity is just some of the benefits of hiring contractors,” said Sarah Owens.