For every one contract opening, there are probably over 70 highly qualified candidates that apply. Additionally, contract positions are few and far between these days...
Try here. Click the "Contract Jobs" radio button.
Net-Temps
Right now it returns "5253 jobs available". These are just the contract jobs - in information technology. Now in Chicago there are only 161 contract jobs currently listed - on this one site - in information technology.
Lot of the time the pay is poor, though. There are plenty of jobs where they want to pay someone with 4 years or more of experience $25 - $35 hour. That sucks. (For those of you who think it doesn't, remember contractors usually only "work" about 1200 to 1500 hours per year. The rest of the time they are looking for the next job. And they have to pay both sides of social security, all medical/dental/life, etc. If you can clear $45/hr for a 1500 hour year, that $67,500 is about equivalent to a $50K/year salary. Not great, but not bad. But if you clear $25/hour for a 1200 hour year, then that $30K is about equivalent to $18K (because of the SS, medical/dental/life.) That really, really, stinks for someone with a 4 year degree and 4+ years of experience in a technical field. Especially because someone who dropped out of high school can get a job working night stock at the supermarket, and with 4 years of experience is earning $16/hour: (16 x 40 x 50 = $32K). And on top of the $32K they get full medical/dental/life coverage, and the employer pays part of the SS tax. Of course they pay modest union dues (retail clerks union).
But even so it is interesting that a high school drop out working a night shift on not particularly skilled labor can earn more than a 4 year college degree person in a technical field with the same number of years of experience. Hmmm...maybe just home schooling, going straight to work in a grunt union job at age 16 is the way to go after all. No college debt. No real expenses....until they invent robots to stock shelves in the grocery store this might be the way to go.