Contingent hiring fell by 56% in the first half of this year. However, it had returned to pre-Covid levels by July and was 9% higher year over year in September, according to a report by VMS and MSP firm PRO Unlimited.
“The onset of the pandemic in early 2020 and the high amount of uncertainty from an economic perspective sent employers into crisis mode,” said PRO Unlimited CEO Kevin Akeroyd. “Many of them announced hiring freezes and layoffs.”
Akeroyd continued, “As such, we saw a decline in contingent hires, but it quickly rebounded and increased higher than pre-pandemic levels. We expect contingent roles will replace many full-time, white-collar jobs going into next year.”
The report noted that contingent hiring is recovering faster now than it did from the 2008 recession.
PRO Unlimited’s report noted the hottest industries for contingent hiring this year were IT/technology, healthcare and professional services.