Demand for IT contractors came a hair’s breadth away from falling flat in November 2022 -- at just 50.3, its lowest index score for two years.

The REC, which keeps the index, had to reissue the sort of alerts it sent a month ago, saying ‘business/candidate caution is increasing’ but like October, “this is not yet a major slowdown.”

The reassurance by the staffing body follows IT contractor demand falling in November 2022 for the sixth month in a row, to a level not seen since the first winter of covid.

'Flat market'

Neil Carberry, of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) says it is “really important to remember that all this is happening from a historically high base”.

Moreover, given that it stood last month at 50.3, IT contractor demand still grew, albeit only just -- because the market becomes “flat” at 50.0, Carberry cautioned in a post.

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