IQNavigator Launches IQNdex, a Unique Rate Index of the Temporary Labor Market
IQNdex Empowers Companies to Make Informed Sourcing Decisions about Temporary Labor;
Also Reveals Noteworthy Trends in Overall U.S. Labor Market
DENVER, April 20, 2011 – IQNavigator Inc. has launched IQNdex, a new information resource that features data, insights and analysis about rates for temporary labor—information not available from any other source. IQNdex measures the magnitude and direction of change in temporary labor bill rates by skill set and geography that reflect the rapidly shifting relationship between demand and supply of non-employee workers.
The use of non-employee labor has grown rapidly in the United States in recent years as companies rely more heavily on temporary workers, contractors, freelancers and other contingent labor to quickly adjust their labor force and cost structure in response to changing business conditions. The data, benchmarks and analytical findings in IQNdex are the result of a two-year effort by IQNavigator to develop this first-of-its-kind resource, which can be used by companies to make smarter labor sourcing decisions about how and where to use non-employee workers. The data is also applicable to a broader audience as it provides insights into labor trends that are often indicative of overall economic and employment dynamics.
IQNdex provides highly detailed data about the current bill rates that companies are paying for temporary workers with specific skill sets in U.S. locations, reflecting the true cost of temporary labor to companies. IQNavigator will publish an overview of IQNdex data each quarter at www.IQNtelligence.com, and IQNavigator clients will have access to a more complete set of the benchmark and rate information. In addition to the Master IQNdex, which provides a comprehensive view across all geographic regions and labor sectors, the data is also available broken out into segmented analyses that provide clients with finer detail of each region and worker skill set.
In addition to the quarterly IQNdex reports, clients of IQNavigator also gain priority access to custom market rate analyses (Market IQ) and detailed benchmarking rate reports (Rate IQ), which provide temporary labor bill rate analyses by location and skill level of over 130 job titles that have been normalized across millions of assignments.
Jason Busch, executive editor of Spend Matters, suggests the index will be useful on two fronts. “For executives, politicians and economists, the granularity of IQNdex based on the level of homework IQNavigator has done to rationalize rates with specific skill-sets and geographies will prove a useful leading indicator of economic growth and declines across the U.S. This data may become as ubiquitous as ISM PMI data in certain circles. But the biggest benefit will be for services procurement and HR practitioners looking to make more informed contingent hiring decisions based on actual bill rates for specific job skills. Ultimately, such an index model based on market clearing prices, as IQNdex is, may lead to new types of contracting arrangements and even the securitization of contingent ‘commodity’ resources, which is exciting to consider. IQNdex is a useful quantitative injection into a sector of procurement that needs greater analytical and data- driven rigor.”
“The information in the IQNdex has tremendous value because it gives companies access to information that’s never been available before—up-to-date data about how bill rates are changing not only by geographic regions but also by skill category of worker. This kind of information is not being published by any government agency or organization in the private sector, and it provides unique, actionable insights into a growing and ever-changing workforce category,” said John F. Martin, chief operating officer of IQNavigator. “Unlike many data sources that rely on surveys or job postings, IQNdex is based on our large database of actual market-clearing transactional rates between buyers and sellers of temporary labor.”
Attached to this announcement are two graphics from the IQNdex that illustrate noteworthy trends in the temporary labor market:
- The Master IQNdex graphic illustrates that bill rates for temporary workers declined in response to the economic downturn and remained below 2008 levels as recently as November 2010. Temporary worker rates are much more volatile than employee wages, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that employee wages have continued to rise steadily over the past 36 months, despite the economic downturn. The decrease in unemployment by a full percentage point since December 2010 has led to a corresponding increase in the IQNdex over the last four months, indicating that temporary bill rates have risen as the supply of available workers has tightened.
- The Job Sector IQNdex graphic illustrates how certain worker segments have fared better than others in terms of the strength of billing rates, indicating that the recovery has not benefited all categories of the temporary labor market equally. For example, Professional- Managerial bill rates have experienced the greatest increase over the past year, while bill rates for Technical-IT workers have trended downward overall for more than two years.
To view the findings and a complete set of charts from the inaugural IQNdex report, or to inquire about a custom Market IQ or Rate IQ analysis, please visit www.IQNtelligence.com.
About IQNavigator
IQNavigator provides software and services that help the world’s best companies manage their extended workforce and procured services in a smarter way — putting the emphasis on “IQ” by giving companies powerful insight into and control over the way they source services and utilize their extensive non-employee workforce. Companies in every sector of the economy and every corner of the world are supplementing their permanent workforce with an extended workforce that enables them to leverage specialized skills, respond quickly to market opportunities, and maintain flexibility in the way they grow. Services procurement and an extended workforce present significant challenges to companies, however, in areas such as visibility, cost control and risk. For more than a decade, IQNavigator has been at the forefront of the industry in providing the software solutions and managed services that address issues inherent with services procurement and extended workforce management, turning those challenges into opportunities for companies to become more nimble, reduce risk and save millions of dollars. For more information about IQNavigator and how its industry-leading offerings such as IQNtelligence are helping many of the world’s most respected companies, visit www.IQNavigator.com.
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Note to Editors: Additional graphics and a full white paper are available upon request.
Media Contact:
Rich Miller
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rich@downingstreetcommunications.com
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