State of the Market

[hungry_hog]

Ah a warm feeling
LI message; ‘Indian recruiter based in Wembley, 200GBP pd contract”
needs or have call today at 4pm and client needs CV URGENTLY

Not had one of those for a couple of years

This can only mean things are picking up

[SussexSeagull]

Had a good one today which typically exemplifies the state we are in right now.

A telco in The Netherlands, with my CV am guessing Liberty Global, offering a hybrid role, Inside IR35, £400/day. Absolutely no indication of their expectations for time in NL to cater to the hybrid requirements.

'Will my travel and hotel expenses be paid?'
'No.'
'Then if you are requiring a person from the UK, the very best of luck to you then.'

Wake up people, FFS.

Why would a contract in the Netherlands be Inside IR35?

[edison]

Usually when things are bad there is still work about, its just the rates are lower. This time there is little to nothing to even apply to.

This is what I've been finding in the last 2-3 months. Applied for a role a few days ago which was the first since October. Had calls with about 20 agents in that time and barely a sniff of any roles.

Had lunch with a couple of friends today who are also contractors but in quite different fields (lean/process improvement and corporate affairs/risk management). Both said they have seen barely anything during the last three months too.

[jamesbrown]

Why would a contract in the Netherlands be Inside IR35?

Probably a UK entity in the supply chain or the client has a UK branch or PE - makes little sense operate this way, though. Obviously, IR35 doesn't apply if the individual is not chargeable to UK tax (but employer NICs are another matter).

[SchumiStars]

This is part I don't understand, there just seems to be no work ATM. No new projects, no new tech, no integrations, no new websites or even rebranding of existing web sites.

Very odd market. I have also noticed that petrol prices are falling which is usually a sign that the government needs consumers and companies to start spending.

Contracting has been tulip since IR35, 2019. There does not seem much hope coming from any angle either. Could be another 12mths.

[edison]

This is part I don't understand, there just seems to be no work ATM. No new projects, no new tech, no integrations, no new websites or even rebranding of existing web sites.

Very odd market. I have also noticed that petrol prices are falling which is usually a sign that the government needs consumers and companies to start spending.

Contracting has been tulip since IR35, 2019. There does not seem much hope coming from any angle either. Could be another 12mths.

Falling petrol prices might be due to the fact the pound is at a six month high against the US dollar - oil is priced in dollars.

Organisations are currently very risk averse and CFOs have been trying to conserve cash over the last year. This means more 'sweating of assets' and IT capex budgets have been slashed and fewer new discretionary projects are launched.

BAU opex budgets have also been under pressure so even 'keeping the lights on' is being kept to a minimum in many places. That just leaves stuff that is regulatory or mandatory for other reasons.

[Fraidycat]

This is part I don't understand, there just seems to be no work ATM. No new projects, no new tech, no integrations, no new websites even rebranding of existing web sites.

If your competitors are not starting new projects then you don't have to either. Its is herd behaviour, and it is working against us at the moment, but it will work in our favour once all the flood gates open at the same time. We will be in demand again and Agents will be chasing us again..

[edison]

It's not even half way through the first month of the year but some of the big tech companies are already announcing new layoffs including Google today.

Where are the green shoots of recovery?

[dsc]

It's not even half way through the first month of the year but some of the big tech companies are already announcing new layoffs including Google today.

Where are the green shoots of recovery?

"The Alphabet company has announced plans to make hundreds of employees within its Voice Assistant division redundant.

Additionally, several hundred positions are being eliminated in the hardware team overseeing Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit. On the other hand, the majority of personnel working in the augmented reality (AR) team are being sacked, reported Reuters.
"
The voice assistant is useless anyway, so that's actually fairly late in the game. Nothing interesting happening with Pixels either, (they seem to be getting tuliptier and tuliptier with each release tbh), Nest was never very successful and who the hell uses Fitbits these days? I think they are just getting rid of dead depts.

[Snooky]

Ah a warm feeling
LI message; ‘Indian recruiter based in Wembley, 200GBP pd contract”
needs or have call today at 4pm and client needs CV URGENTLY

Not had one of those for a couple of years

This can only mean things are picking up

Yes - picking up for some onshoring consultancy who's paying lip service to the requirement to advertise a vacancy locally before bringing in their own staff.