The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) revealed that the industry grew by 4.37% in the 2011-12 financial year, amassing £25.7 billion of revenue.

According to the REC's findings, this growth was engineered by a 5.5% increase in turnover from temporary and contract work, improving from £22.1bn in 2010/11 to £23.3bn. In contrast, turnover from permanent placements fell by 6.6% to £2.4bn.

  • The recruitment industry workforce grew by 1.8% to 92,446

  • Permanent volumes fell by 9%. In contrast temporary volumes were 5.4% higher.

Agency, temporary and contract workers have become an attractive option for companies contending with tighter budgets, reluctant to commit to costlier hires that represent a higher financial risk.

The REC estimate that contractors are set to increase even further in the current financial year to £27 billion as fiscally-prudent trends permeate hiring strategies on a larger scale.

"The ones who survive and thrive will be those who stay ahead of these trends and become expert providers of talent within their particular niche sectors. The future is all about being an inch wide and a mile deep in terms of focus and knowledge. We're publishing this analysis now - when agencies are conducting their business planning for 2013 - because we believe these are the key trends that recruiters need to be taking into consideration so they can be successful in the new emerging landscape."

                                         - REC chief executive Kevin Green