Contractor UK Market report:

In the six months from May this year, average contractor hourly rates in the ten most common roles have dropped 11% from 26.10 to 23.35, according to the latest market figures from IT contractor portal, Contractor UK.

The post-summer drop off in demand for graduates explains much of the fall in average rates. Graduate rates tumbled from 22 to 16 per hour.

The City of London continues to provide the best reward for contractor skills. Over the last year, various independent bodies have commented on the steady swell of contract IT roles in investment banking and other City institutions. The average hourly rate is 30, more than 15% higher than second placed greater London.

Greater London claims 33% of contract IT roles currently advertised, with a further 6% based in the City. The most popular area outside the South East is the Midlands, mentioned in slightly more than 3% of advertisements.

SAP remains in strong demand, appearing in more than one in ten advertised vacancies. It also brings in tidy rates for contractors. SAP modules appear four times in the top ten hourly rates, filling spots four to seven. The modules HR, MM, SEM and WM bring in an average hourly rate of 70. ERP savvy contractors also hold the top spot, with Peoplesoft HRMS contractors claiming the highest average rate, at 100 per hour.

Jeff Brooks is Operations Director for Parity and Chair of the IT sector for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC.) He told Contractor UK, ìSAP and others have shrink wrapped their offerings and made them available to smaller organisations, which has made SAP a more appealing skill to have.î FileMaker is the second most costly contract skill for employers, commanding 95 per hour. However, it is rarely requested, appearing in just 0.01% of advertisements.

Full report can be found at