State of the Market

[Guy Incognito]

Contacted via LinkedIn for a role paying £450 inside IR35.

Said I was not interested but might know someone.

My someone said maybe for £650.

Agent instantly agreed.

Then the someone said actually don't bother I had a better offer.

[dsc]

London based tech recruiter on linkedin.

"So, it's nearing 5 weeks that I was notified by my employer that I was being hibernated/made redundant.

The market is scary, I was hoping to see a quick change when April come around, as business' learned of their budgets I was optimistic that we'd see an increase in job openings and a decrease in TA professionals on the market.

I can't even count the number of roles I've applied to, but even then, I'm only one of probably 200+ applicants in every scenario.

I've only been invited to 5 interviews so far, all of which I've made it to the final stage. I've received feedback from 2 that I've been unsuccessful as they've decided to choose a more suitable applicant."

200+ applications? what sort of roles are we talking? I'm finding it hard to believe tbh unless the pay was something wild or it was some super funky, extra special company.

[Bluenose]

Recruitment/resourcing roles, he does not state where.

[suityou01]

It's time for me to have the awkward conversation with the mortgage company.
I've never missed a mortgage payment before. I am absolutely grief stricken and racked with worry.

One question I hope they don't ask is "how long do you think it will be before you are back in work?"

I have been out since January. I thought things would pick up after the budget...
I thought things would pick up after Easter...
I thought things would pick up in May...
I think things aren't going to pick up this year...

Anyone got any idea when this tulipshow will level out?

[Fraidycat]

It's time for me to have the awkward conversation with the mortgage company.
I've never missed a mortgage payment before. I am absolutely grief stricken and racked with worry.

One question I hope they don't ask is "how long do you think it will be before you are back in work?"

Anyone got any idea when this tulipshow will level out?

Sorry to hear you are in this situation. It does not look good for the rest of the year, UK inflation has not subsided so that means they probably wont cut interest rates anytime soon. In the US things look better, inflation has started to come down, but even there a recession is expected over the next six months.

If i were in your situation i would check to see if i could apply for a mortgage holiday, or if i could use any past overpayments to skip payments now without it effecting my credit rating.
If not then i would take out a personal loan to cover my living expenses for another six months, while I find work (including perm).

[Bluenose]

Anyone got any idea when this tulipshow will level out?

There's at least two sets of opinions in the thread a) the market is permanently damaged by IR35, other taxes and that was the governments/HMRC's plan b) this market will follow the usual bear market conditions and last for around 18 months. If you accept that the bear market started last July that means this year is a wash, will level out slowly as the year progresses and probably won't heat up until May next year.

[SussexSeagull]

There's at least two sets of opinions in the thread a) the market is permanently damaged by IR35, other taxes and that was the governments/HMRC's plan b) this market will follow the usual bear market conditions and last for around 18 months. If you accept that the bear market started last July that means this year is a wash, will level out slowly as the year progresses and probably won't heat up until May next year.

I just got back in after six months out but am none the wiser.

I am not absolutely convinced that demand in the market has been heavily hit by the changes to IR35 and other taxes as clients will switch to Inside IR35 or even FTC. That said it does make is less lucrative and means gaps between contracts are harder to swallow.

When I have had long gaps between contracts before, while there was always people on here in the same boat it didn't seem like a majority. At the moment there are experienced contractors with different skillsets who have worked constantly for, in some instances, decades been out of work for months for the first time.

So what is the problem? I can't say for sure but looking on LinkedIn I am not convinced the permanent job market is much better. It might be something as simple as interest rates being high combined with a trend towards outsourcing and/or a lot of work permits being issued.

[eek]

As I posted a few weeks ago

In other news - someone who knows the recruitment market is saying that Contract work is doing way better than permanent recruitment

[Fraidycat]

It might be something as simple as interest rates being high combined with a trend towards outsourcing and/or a lot of work permits being issued.

They say the lag effect of interest rates hitting the economy takes 6 to 9 months..

First interest rate hike by BOE was December 2021, Contractor market noticeably starts slowing down around 7 months later.

The FTSE 250 also began to correct in January 2022 and was down over 25% by mid year. That also marked a major change in sentiment.

Every time the FTSE 250 has fallen by 25%+, the contractor jobs market has been badly affected: 2002, 2008, 2020, and 2022.

[avonleigh]

It's time for me to have the awkward conversation with the mortgage company.
I've never missed a mortgage payment before. I am absolutely grief stricken and racked with worry.

One question I hope they don't ask is "how long do you think it will be before you are back in work?"

I have been out since January. I thought things would pick up after the budget...
I thought things would pick up after Easter...
I thought things would pick up in May...
I think things aren't going to pick up this year...

Anyone got any idea when this tulipshow will level out?

Can't see things changing until business confidence returns, which isn't going to happen under interest rates start to drop. That could be a while off yet sadly.