Over 80% of UK contractors do not search for a new role until the last two months of an ongoing contract and 15% of these do not even start searching until they are already out of work.

This is according to a survey of 1,605 contractors nationwide by umbrella company FPS Group and freelance professionals jobs board ContractJobs.com.

The survey also finds that 42% of contractors secured their current position through a recruitment agency and 30% found it through friends and family.

FPS chief financial office Matt Huddleston suggests that the results “show recruitment agencies are still the first port of call for contractors looking for a new position”.

Recruitment has returned to growth following an early spring slump and a December 2011 nadir, according to the latest jobs data from APSCo.  According to the latest data, permanent placements rose sharply by 17% month on month and vacancies rose 19% (m/m). Job placements and vacancies are respectively 34% and 35% up on December 2011’s lows.  Not so good news for graudates that are being squeezed.   Graduate starting salaries are down as employers benefit from the high number of graduates chasing every role. Data compiled by Broadbean shows that average graduate salaries have plummeted 20.5% from this time last year to £24,070. Ann Swain, APSCO, adds: “Graduates have been hit hard by reduced graduate recruitment by the professions, which continues to squeeze starting salaries for those graduates lucky enough to break their way into the professions.”  “With professional recruitment showing signs of improvement, it could be that graduate intakes also start to recover during this summer’s graduate recruitment season.”