Anyone notice rates have gone up?

[Sausage Surprise]

It's a fact I've seen rates rise in testing in the last 4/5 weeks. Even up north!
Just pushed an agent offering £x per day - got an extra £25 a day in a matter of minutes.

[wantacontract]

well for infrastructure PMs, rates are definitely going down.....agents are telling me for every PM role I am applying for there's about 200 CVs they are sifting through.....



Doomed....

[SlipTheJab]

Indeed £300 to £400 pd usually means a max of £350, agent maths at work here...

[MrMarkyMark]

Advertised Rates or Agreed Contracted Rates

There is a difference

Correct, indeed there is.

Obviously, I know about one role that were advertised at the high end, 18% up, but did not pay that.
I know, for a fact, the budget was there to pay the rate, maybe negotiating skills were lacking.

There are two other projects, however, that have paid the 18% rate increase, I was discussing, in the first instance.

[SimonMac]

Advertised Rates or Agreed Contracted Rates

There is a difference

[MrMarkyMark]

"Increased demand" or reduced supply?

In this case increased demand, due to BCBS regulatory reporting.

[WordIsBond]

Wouldn't say its due to proposed tax increases, but certainly down to increased demand, at least in my area.

Seeing around 10-18% up, in Investment Banking, in the city.

"Increased demand" or reduced supply?

It won't take a lot of people deciding to get out due to the tax changes to start to impact rates. Anyone who has a big warchest (more than 2 years of revenue, say) has to be thinking seriously about winding up and taking ER before it is withdrawn. People are starting to look at their next contract and say, "How long is this contract going to be, and what are the rules going to be by the time it ends, and am I willing to take it on if it goes past March?"

Some will just carry on, but for anyone who contracting was a borderline decision, they are probably thinking about getting out, which means supply is going to start dropping, and rates will start rising.

Basic economics. As the rates rise, contracting will become attractive for more for whom it was borderline, and more will get in. An equilibrium will be reached. The tax changes mean the equilibrium is at a higher rate than it used to be, which means clients end up paying at least part of the tax increase. And their increased cost means they'll increase prices for their customers.

As with any other tax increase on business, ultimately, the consumer ends up paying most or all of it.

But it makes for good headlines to stick it to the banks or the tax-dodging contractors or big corporations or whoever the villain du jour is. Nobody cares who really pays.

Anyway, those coming tax changes may well be starting to feed into higher prices.

[MrMarkyMark]

Wouldn't say its due to proposed tax increases, but certainly down to increased demand, at least in my area.

Seeing around 10-18% up, in Investment Banking, in the city.

[northernladuk]

Well it is the end of silly season so it's back to business as normal. There are also some quite major assumptions there. And all that said havent noticed an increase in my area. I can't believe the tax situation, bearing in mind it hasn't even been implemented yet has made one iota of difference to rates. I wouldn't be surprised if it did when it hits either.

[NibblyPig]

Dunno if it's connected to the upcoming tax changes, time of year, or other factors, but everything has shifted upwards a decent amount, at least for software development. Oddly, including jobs that are right in the city and thus are less likely to require T&S