State of the Market

[Fraidycat]

Think I'm going perm after this month

Good luck, at the moment even the perm market is also a fraction of what is was compared to Jan/April earlier this year. Slim pickings...

[FIERCE TANK BATTLE]

Good luck, at the moment even the perm market is also a fraction of what is was compared to Jan/April earlier this year. Slim pickings...

Really, damn. I thought it was just IR35 playing havoc since 90% of roles seem to be inside IR35 these days.

[Protagoras]

"Shell cuts hundreds of contractors amid 'ruthless' shake-up by new CEO"

https://www.standard.co.uk/business/...-b1114869.html

"Scores of contracts have either been cut short or are not being renewed. The bulk of the contractors who face the axe sit in the firm's IT wing, of which permanent staff represent a minority of the workforce in a number of teams."

[Fraidycat]

"Shell cuts hundreds of contractors amid 'ruthless' shake-up by new CEO""

Someone on here was calling the end of the contractor bear market a month or two ago.
It seems the bear is still alive and clawing away.

30 years gilts yielding 5.11%. FTSE 250 made a 52 week low today.

[simes]

Really, damn. I thought it was just IR35 playing havoc since 90% of roles seem to be inside IR35 these days.

Your maths is spot on sir.

In the Project Management world, on Friday's JobServe, there were just 30 contract roles advertised, of which 3 were Outside. Thereby making a mockery of the HMRC's statement that 'true contractors would not be affected' by reform ideas.

‘Normal’ times would manifest ~150-200 such roles on JobServe.

What with one thing and another, this is the worst I have personally ever experienced it; including the effects of the dotcom crash of 2001 and the housing crash of 2007/8.

[simes]

I get a lot of emails through from agencies, and some of them look like good roles (e.g. a higher daily rate than I'm on now). However, I also get other emails for entry level roles which are barely above minimum wage. So, I think that a lot of these are auto-generated, and I shouldn't be too optimistic about the first group.

I've had a few phone calls from recruitment agents, but then they've asked me whether my current client has any other roles available! So, that suggests that they're struggling.

I get a lot of emails from agencies offering me roles as Data Architects, Lead Test Managers, Business Analysts. I am a Project Manager.

I am thinking of call myself either a Data Architect, a Lead Test Manager, or a Business Analyst. Maybe then I will be contacted about PM roles...

[FIERCE TANK BATTLE]

Interesting. Funny also how despite being inside IR35 they force you to use an umbrella as well. I'm perfectly capable of doing my own tax for an inside role.

If you're going to make me a https://norightsemployee.uk/ at least trust me enough to manage my own affairs.

[m0n1k3r]

Is this on contracts where it's "all in" as in the contractor covers the costs of getting / staying on site? I'm in contract with a Danish client and the onsite rate was originally 30% more due to me covering all extra costs, but later on they agreed to cover costs and the onsite rate is only 6% more.

Yes.

[eek]

Interesting. Funny also how despite being inside IR35 they force you to use an umbrella as well. I'm perfectly capable of doing my own tax for an inside role.

If you're going to make me a https://norightsemployee.uk/ at least trust me enough to manage my own affairs.

HMRC don’t trust you - which means deemed payments and even if you give 1% of a tulip about your pension you don’t want to be being paid via deemed payments.

[Fraidycat]

What with one thing and another, this is the worst I have personally ever experienced it; including the effects of the dotcom crash of 2001 and the housing crash of 2007/8.

One thing missing from this downturn is the headlines of the Banks forcing 20%+ rates cuts on contractors. I'm sure that happened in both 2002 and 2008. Are banking rates so low these days anyway, not worth cutting?