Flexible workers, more specifically freelancers and professionals employed by secondment agencies, are expected to become seven percent more expensive on average in 2022, I predicted in our Talent Monitor 'Forecast rate development professionals 2022'. According to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), we are heading for this prediction to come true. On average, the price of hiring staff and everything that comes with it went up by more than 5 percent compared to a year earlier.
The use of temporary workers has become more expensive as the demand for additional staff has increased significantly at many companies. Flexible workers can charge a higher hourly rate at the start of a new assignment. The big advantage here is the faster turnover of different assignments. This is more difficult for permanent staff, who are employed by one organization for a longer period of time. Although this group also experiences wage increases, this is generally much slower.
Number of vacancies affects rate hike
In late 2021, based on a rate prediction model developed by labor market data specialist Intelligence Group, we published statements about the expected rate increase/decrease for professionals in 2022. The model is based on nine factors, including the income development of self-employed professionals, inflation, economic growth and the number of open vacancies per 1,000 jobs - the vacancy rate. As this vacancy rate decreases or increases and thus the market becomes tighter or wider compared to the previous year, the rate moves with it. On top of the constant year-over-year increase of 1.8 percent.
These figures add value to professionals and suppliers, who gain insights into their value, as well as to clients, who can use the data to forecast their hiring costs. Simultaneously, we announced an interim update on the forecasts made, we will present these insights in the third week of July 2022.