Chart – Temporary Worker Rate Change: Master UK IQNdex
No Increases So Far in 2012
IQNavigator introduced its UK Office IQNdex in December 2011. Covering hourly rates for professional, clerical and IT temporary labour, the IQNdex summarises changes compared to its baseline month of January 2010. At its introduction, the UK Office IQNdex showed that hourly rates had surged upward more than 10% during the 12 months ending November 2011. Now, six months after its introduction, the UK Office IQNdex tells a very different story. Gone is the upward pressure on hourly rates that defined last year. In 2012 the IQNdex shows a flat, even slightly declining rate for temporary labour in the office setting.
Absent the external events in 2011 that accelerated upward pressure on temporary labour rates, the UK Office IQNdex provides a clearer view into market trends in 2012. The feared surge in rates caused by the Agency Worker Regulations has not materialised (see companion article). The slight decline in temporary labour hourly rates in 2012 is attributable to a number of factors:
- Weakening business expansion has reduced demand for temporary labour
- Seasonally lower agency labour utilisation early in the year
- Less spending on highly paid technical and strategy consultants
To get more insight on UK Temporary Rates download the full UK IQNdex White Paper today.