As the nation slowing emerged from “The Great Recession,” 2010 became a big year for contracting. No longer relegated to entry-level office positions, contract placements were found in nearly every professional, technical, and healthcare occupation.
FoxHire tracked its contract placements throughout the United States in 2010. The numbers show the hottest areas for contracting were:
- 33% – Healthcare (Professionals: PT, OT, SLP, Pharm, Nurses, but not Doctors)
- 20% – Engineering and Manufacturing (Professional and Technical)
- 13% – Information Technology (All areas, levels, platforms, etc.)
- 13% – Business Professionals and Support Staff (All industries)
- 12% – Finance and Accounting (All levels, except CFOs)
- 5% – HR/Legal/Recruiting (All levels, except Attorneys)
- 3% – Insurance/Real Estate (All levels)
- 1% – Miscellaneous
But don’t assume that clients that are not in one of these industries are not interested in hiring contractors. You may be surprised to learn that 70-80% of companies utilize contract staffing. Recruiters also tell us that 87.5% of their contract placements come from their direct-hire clients. So the best way to find out which client companies are utilizing contractors is to simply ask them.