New year new pay rate right?  Well, it seems like the New Year has started off with a flurry of new Contract Recruiting opportunities?  My Yahoo Group for Contract RecruiterJobs has been pretty busy with message posts for new Contract offerings across the country.  We even have a number of international members now and it appears that 2007 is off to a great start with plenty of recruiting work to go around.

So, what is the going rate for Contract Recruiters?  Well, of course there are many factors which impact pay rates for recruiters.  Some of them include:

• Depth of Experience in years and technical understanding
• Vertical market expertise
• Computer skills
• Sourcing and full desk experience and capability
• Geographic location if working on-site
• Past Contract Experience and who you have worked for

I?m sure there are many other factors which also impact the pay rates of good Contract Recruiters.  For sure being in the right place at the right time and market demand are two huge modifiers of your pay rates. 

I have read many comments on what rates are out there for Contract Recruiters.  Most frequently rates are expressed in dollars per hour.  However, we have also seen contingency type rates based on completion of assignments or job fills.  These seem to be less prevalent now and I am sure it is because most Contract Recruiters can find plenty of work on a hourly or other direct basis which eliminates the ?we?ll pay you if you get lucky enough to fill this search assignment? guys.

On my Yahoo Group we maintain a database of sorts of pay rates.  There are some 30 pay rate inputs from all around the United States.  The numbers tend to range from $45 to $75 and in some cases there are some lower rates and of course in major cities the rates get to $100. 

In 2007, I would expect to see a fairly significant increase in Contract Recruiter pay rates.  I think this will be driven by the combination of a lot of great search work to be done as well as the improving economy.  What are you seeing out there for the trends in rates?