State of the Market

[SussexSeagull]

Just seen another role in Knutsford £251 - £261 inside for Test Automation. Barclays really taking the p1ss it seems.

It might have become more widespread since open source tools began appearing so people could learn it at home but decent automated testers (which admittedly is not all of them) should be prized. By doing this they are offering no encouragement for people to stay doing it or start doing it.

Business and Industry is really doing their best to make sure the IT industry isn't sustainable in this country.

[SchumiStars]

Sounds like a rare niche that is worth being in at the moment. Congratulations!

.Net market is usually one at the tail end of the market i.e. it's usually one of the last skills in demand.

If the market is asking for .net developers, it means the market is flying.

If the market is asking for Java developers then the market is rising or back to normal.

Currently noone is asking for either language. Which means the market is on its arse.

Also means, that the recovery will be slow. So for anyone thinking that once recovery starts it will be ok, it won't.

It means the rates will be low. I mean low. As there is an oversaturation of benched developers, like me, who will work for next to nothing.

The freshies, would have been promised jobs with high salaries only to find a dead market, tulip weather and rising rental market.

[Fraidycat]

Also means, that the recovery will be slow. So for anyone thinking that once recovery starts it will be ok, it won't.

Early on this year, most of us and you included were not expecting a major recovery this year.

I think the worst is behind his us, and the job market is off its lows, but still very bad.

Things should improve by April 2025. Hiring for the new tax year, the US elections will be over and interest rates will have been cut multiple times by both the BOE and Fed.

7 months is along time...

[dsc]

Early on this year, most of us and you included were not expecting a major recovery this year.

I think the worst is behind his us, and the job market is off its lows, but still very bad.

Things should improve by April 2025. Hiring for the new tax year, the US elections will be over and interest rates will have been cut multiple times by both the BOE and Fed.

7 months is along time...

Why would BOE start cutting rates when inflation is slowly on the raise again and core inflation is also rising slowly?

[edison]

The article you mention may contain a different methodology. In the way you have described small areas cannot be compared for GDP per capita for many reasons. I assume you haven't explained the methodology correctly.

The article only had data points for less than 20 UK areas ('sub-national areas') and only four were named on the chart - London, Manchester, South East and North East. The calculation was done using GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power parity which is generally regarded as a more accurate comparison between countries.

Irrespective of the size of area chosen, I think it's hard to argue that large swathes of the UK outside London do not compare relatively well to other industrialised countries. The article used Germany, Holland and the US as a comparison.

[sadkingbilly]

If the market is asking for .net developers, it means the market is flying.

If the market is asking for Java developers then the market is rising or back to normal.

Currently noone is asking for either language. Which means the market is on its arse.

unless you're not a developer, of course.

[mogga71]

Why would BOE start cutting rates when inflation is slowly on the raise again and core inflation is also rising slowly?

Agreed. Over in America, the only reason the Fed chose to cut interest rates was because of the insane cost of repaying the interest on its debt. Core inflation is still rising in America. Also there is a strong argument that lowering rates is just going to result in inflated asset prices again ..... an ever repeating cycle. The harsh truth is that the vast majority of economies will never be able to fully recover from the ZIRP years.

[Smartie]

Agreed. Over in America, the only reason the Fed chose to cut interest rates was because of the insane cost of repaying the interest on its debt. Core inflation is still rising in America. Also there is a strong argument that lowering rates is just going to result in inflated asset prices again ..... an ever repeating cycle. The harsh truth is that the vast majority of economies will never be able to fully recover from the ZIRP years.

Never is a very long time indeed. Fully recover is a pretty vague term - do you mean back to the height of the economies? There's no rule that says we need to get better off indefinitely. Cheap, abundant energy was the driver for big economic jumps previously - industrial revolution coal, more recently oil. If we get that again, ideally from nuclear fusion we'd no doubt get another rise in living standards. Otherwise, what will drive it? AI needs a lot of power.
This is Western economies of course, SE Asia has improved massively over the last few decades. A billion people taken out of poverty globally.

On the upside, the IFS just published figures showing child poverty in the UK has dropped a lot since 1997 - halved for absolute poverty and 10% down for relative poverty. Unsurprisingly the biggest change was at the start of that period, during the first Blair government.

[ladymuck]

If anyone is an IAM Architect, ping me, as I've just been approached on LinkedIn about a role in FS, London, hybrid working, up to £1k a day (suspect that's an inside rate). Not something I could do but happy to pass on people's details.

[SchumiStars]

Need some ideas!

https://youtu.be/QFbskg-LOGQ?si=7QW9pC2fT_5UI8z9