Link to gloomy contractor survey required

[paraclete]

Strange request, but does anyone have a link to a gloomy survey of the contract market.

Long story, but am going through a very acrimonious divorce, and need to justify my reduced turnover.

I have had several months on the bench this summer, but have managed to secure a contract, paying 20% less than my contract did at this time last year.

At a hearing last week, her barrister was arguing that I am deliberately running the company down. I need to counter this.

I am a Project Manager, in the South East if this helps.


Thanks in advance.

[MPwannadecentincome]

I'm in a similar situation - I'm getting a dodgy agent to write a letter explaining state of market.

[paraclete]

Sorry to hear that MP. Very distressing time.

I see lots of positive surveys everywhere, which simply do not reflect the reality that I have been seeing.

I am going to produce the company accounts of a friend too, which show a 50% drop-off in their turnover. Not sure how helpful this will be, but am running out of options.

Good luck.

[SueEllen]

Strange request, but does anyone have a link to a gloomy survey of the contract market.

Long story, but am going through a very acrimonious divorce, and need to justify my reduced turnover.

I have had several months on the bench this summer, but have managed to secure a contract, paying 20% less than my contract did at this time last year.

At a hearing last week, her barrister was arguing that I am deliberately running the company down. I need to counter this.

I am a Project Manager, in the South East if this helps.


Thanks in advance.

You can't prove anything.

You can go to IT Jobs Watch and gets rates in the local area but that means nothing as not all roles are advertised, and not all roles that are advertised have rates.

You can go to the stories on the main part of the site but they all say rates have increased.

You probably would have been better of getting a permanent job for more stability particularly if you have children.

[DirtyDog]

You aren't going to find it - it's like looking for a weather forecast in the Daily Express during winter. Of the recent rate articles on CUK, only one suggests a gloomy outlook, and that's been superseded since then.

November - IT contractor demand returns to its 2013 peak
IT contractor demand returns to its 2013 peak :: Contractor UK

October - Interim IT leaders paying £2000 a day:
Interim IT pay pitched at £2,000 a day :: Contractor UK

October - Contractor pay up 5.5% from last year:
IT contractor pay up 5.5% on last year :: Contractor UK

September - Jobs market cools:
Online IT jobs market cooled in September :: Contractor UK

July - Jobs market at 25 month high:
IT contractor demand surpasses 25-month high :: Contractor UK

December 2012 - more getting an inflation busting increase:
More IT contractors get an inflation-busting pay rise :: Contractor UK

[paraclete]

You can't prove anything.

You can go to IT Jobs Watch and gets rates in the local area but that means nothing as not all roles are advertised, and not all roles that are advertised have rates.

You can go to the stories on the main part of the site but they all say rates have increased.

You probably would have been better of getting a permanent job for more stability particularly if you have children.

Many thanks Sue Ellen. If I am more specific about my job title, and run it through IT Jobs Watch I can see a 20% drop-off in the number of roles (admittedly the sample is only hundreds, but it is something). The rates are interesting too, as my current contract is virtually spot-on the average shown, so I guess I can argue that I was lucky to have a role paying above average last year.

I may have made a poor career decision at the start of last year, as I took a role outside of my traditional sector, paying what seemed to be a lucrative day rate for a job in the sticks. Feedback that I have had from a number of applications over the summer is that this departure from my core business has made me less attractive to potential clients in this sector.

Thanks again.

[paraclete]

You aren't going to find it - it's like looking for a weather forecast in the Daily Express during winter. Of the recent rate articles on CUK, only one suggests a gloomy outlook, and that's been superseded since then.

November - IT contractor demand returns to its 2013 peak
IT contractor demand returns to its 2013 peak :: Contractor UK

October - Interim IT leaders paying £2000 a day:
Interim IT pay pitched at £2,000 a day :: Contractor UK

October - Contractor pay up 5.5% from last year:
IT contractor pay up 5.5% on last year :: Contractor UK

September - Jobs market cools:
Online IT jobs market cooled in September :: Contractor UK

July - Jobs market at 25 month high:
IT contractor demand surpasses 25-month high :: Contractor UK

December 2012 - more getting an inflation busting increase:
More IT contractors get an inflation-busting pay rise :: Contractor UK

Thanks Dirty Dog, agree that I can't find what I need here. Your help is much appreciated though.

[MPwannadecentincome]

Sorry to hear that MP. Very distressing time.

I see lots of positive surveys everywhere, which simply do not reflect the reality that I have been seeing.

I am going to produce the company accounts of a friend too, which show a 50% drop-off in their turnover. Not sure how helpful this will be, but am running out of options.

Good luck.

Many thanks and good luck to you too.

I also notice ads on jobserve for PMs seem to have lower rates in the past 2 weeks - some as low as £300 pd!

[Old Greg]

Thanks Dirty Dog, agree that I can't find what I need here. Your help is much appreciated though.

What are you going to do when these are put on the table by the other side?

[Bellona]

I have had several months on the bench this summer, but have managed to secure a contract, paying 20% less than my contract did at this time last year.

At a hearing last week, her barrister was arguing that I am deliberately running the company down. I need to counter this.

IMHO - I would ask them to "prove it". Regardless of the market rate, if you have been submitting yourself for roles but have been unsuccessful then the market rate is, to a large extent, irrelevant.

Rather than surveys ( which are subjective at the best of times), I would respond with the number of unsuccessful applications made.

Surely the burden of proof is on them not you ?? ( or maybe I am naive ).