Google searches for contract tech work up by 23%, five-year high

With recent BBC reporting on the decline of the dream ‘Big Tech’ job and an ever-shifting labour market, contract tech work has seen an uptick in interest over the last 12 months.

Digging into current attitudes towards contract, or temporary, roles in IT, Tenth Revolution Group has conducted keyword research revealing a steady increase of 23% in Google searches over the last year reaching a five-year high according to Google Trends.

Responding to these new data insights, Tenth Revolution Group Chairman and CEO James Lloyd-Townshend commented: “The rise in searches for contract roles in tech is both noteworthy and positive. Taking in this data in the aftermath of The Great Resignation, it’s a clear and coherent picture. Contract work gives professionals that much more agency when it comes to structuring their projects, workloads, and crucially their work-life balance.”

“And for businesses, we’re still in the midst of waves of critical digital transformations. This often means hiring technical specialists who can dedicate their time and expertise to the work. For most organisations, contractors are great for working on one-time projects such as implementation or building additional functionality—which is where bringing in those IT specialists on a fixed-term basis makes ideal strategic sense.”

“It’s a scenario that can be very positive for businesses and tech professionals alike. The business benefits from the expertise and skillset required to pursue their transformation project, and the tech professional is able to work on a project-to-project basis, creating more flexibility in their working life.”

Methodology

Data was collected using keywordtool.io on 26 February 2024, and corresponds to global Google search volumes over the period February 2023 – January 2024. Google Trends data was collected on 25 February 2024, and corresponds to global Google search volumes over the period March 2019 – February 2024