WHEN you picture temporary workers you usually think of nervous teenagers running to make the tea or doing the filing nobody else has found time for.

But a completely different class of professional temp has been thriving in the North East so far this year and now commands the best hourly rate in the country.

According to figures from Venn Group, who provide top managers and business professionals to work on projects on a temporary basis, demand has increased by 65 per cent year-on-year and over doubled since the last quarter of 2012.That rise has pushed rates up to an average of £266 per day, the highest of any region in the country.

Demand has been driven by the engineering sector for projects such as the HS2 rail link from London to Birmingham which is due to start construction in 2018.

Stan Murray-Hession, Venn Group’s director of operations, said: “The Government’s latest National Infrastructure Plan outlines further programmes to improve major highways, upgrade rail links, and develop onshore wind farms which suggests a bright future for employment in the region.

“There continues to be strong demand for legal professionals for contract, roles both within private practice and the public sector, which can partly be explained by a shortage of quality permanent candidates.”