 |
|
| CURRENT SECTION :: Market Reports | |
|
 |
Your calendar, and the longer nights, may suggest that spring is here. The drizzle outside your window may confirm it. But the change of season often brings mixed messages for contractors. Firms that run budgets to the calendar year are typically in full flight, and spend-happy. Those that run from April to April can find themselves scrimping through. Last March for example, brought a £2 per hour drop from January ‘05 in rates for the ten most commonly requested contractor skills, from £27.56 to £25.48. But, better news this time around. The nudging upward trend for rates continues, hitting £30.93 from £30.87. This is a tiny, fraction of a percent rise month on month, but a healthy leap over the year. So, what’s driving the continued growth? The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said this month that “City-Type” jobs rose to 327,600 in 2005, up 11,600 from the year before. The highest number since the heady days of the dotcom boom. This has primarily been driven by an excitable market for mergers and acquisitions. And M&As generate IT spend, as noted by Matthew Brown, MD of Giant Group. Last month he suggested that, “post merger integration is vital to the success of M&A deals, so there should be opportunities for contractors.” Beyond this technical need, there is more money pouring in from abroad. According to CEBR economist Jonathan Said; “2006 will be the be the year when the capital’s economy benefits most from international finance.” Bigger deals mean bigger budgets all round, including for IT. And the top earners are reaping the benefits. Average daily rates for IT contractors in the City have risen from £485 to £510 in the last 12 months. It is fair to assume that where daily rates are quoted, roles are more senior. More worrying is the drop in hourly rates. Over the same period, these have tumbled 17%, from £40 to £33.34. This is a worrying longer-term trend, as lower level roles are shipped overseas. Just yesterday, it was revealed that Deutsche Bank intended to move 2,000 trading support jobs to India. JP Morgan Chase has also revealed plans to transfer one in three back-office jobs to India in the next two years. None of which bodes well for more junior contractors. Last month, this site reported on a survey that suggested the telecoms market could be picking up after almost halving the number of jobs it carried for contractors over the last two years. 3G was quoted as a good area to be in. This column has previously noted how volatile this market can be for contractors, and current figures do not show that changing. Over the last 12 months, average daily rates have gone from £296 to £313. This sounds like a steady, encouraging growth. But hourly rates over the same period have tumbled from £40 to £29.47. The similarity in actual earnings here suggests these roles may be at quite similar levels. But while one rises by 6%, another falls by 27%. 3G still offers the best rates of the ten most commonly requested comms and networking skills, but it is not yet a market to have faith in. Security remains the best bet for those in this arena. Firewall skills, for example, have shown steady growth over the past 12 months. Those on a daily rate have seen average earnings climb by almost 11%, from £316 to £351. There is no contradictory hourly tumble here, but no great rise either. Hourly rates are flat, up just 4p on the £28 of 12 months ago. Matt Farquharson Data source: www.itjobswatch.co.uk Mar 29, 2006 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
|
|
    |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All content © Contractor UK Limited | [Archive] | [Register for News Letter] | [Privacy Statement] | [Terms of Use] | [Top of Page] |