contract vs permenant
The headline salary figures for contract roles can look very attractive, but once you factor in holidays, pension contributions, other benefits, which may well be excluded from contract salaries, the premium is less impressive, but can still be quite significant. And of course, if you do well there's often potential to extend the contract, or even move in to a permenant role.
Flexibility vs security is the other main trade-off as bystander said. Risk vs reward I suppose. Contracts can be a great way to jump between projects of your choosing and build up experience, if you don't mind looking for work again soon.
Recruiters should be a good source information, but of course they are incentivised to fill roles to make commission, so may not always be entirely impartial.
Are there many contract roles for part-qualified actuaries with only a few years experience? I tend to think of them as more aimed at more experience people, who are able to work more independently.