IT Contractor rates expected to rise during 2008

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IT Contractor rates expected to rise during 2008

Published on Jan 8, 2008

Most IT Contractors expect to see their rates rise by 5-10% over the coming year, although almost half of them (49%) believe the market for their services will remain static during the coming year.

Although only one in five plans to return to PAYE employment during 2008, over 90% believe the UK has a negative attitude towards contract workers.

These are the key findings of the third annual Contractor Expectation Survey, carried out by JSA, specialist accountants for IT contractors. The survey aims to gauge the ambitions and plans of IT specialists for the coming year.

Of those contractors expecting a 5%+ pay rise, 31.5% of respondents anticipate a rise of at least 10%, while 13.15% reckon on a 15% hike and 18.9% expect upwards of that figure. Despite this optimism on pay, 19.4% of respondents think that the IT contractor market will actually shrink during 2008 and only just over one third expect a growth of 5% or more.

Once again, the survey reveals a generally high satisfaction rate with contracting, with only 20% of respondents saying they would like to return to full time PAYE employment. On a scale of 1(being very unhappy) to 10 (being extremely happy) as a contractor, 83.5% rate themselves at 7 or above - a 6.5% increase over last year.

Despite this surprisingly high level of satisfaction, more than half of respondents (63.3%) say they want more challenging work in 2008 but at the same time 56.7% hope to work less hours in order to i) spend more time with their families (79.4%) ii)have more times for hobbies/interests and iii) alleviate stress (29.4%).

The IT contractors interviewed are generally self-confident and 90% think they are good decision makers.

Over one quarter of IT contractors (26.6%) have been affected by the new managed service company legislation, and of those, 81.2% have switched to limited companies with only 18.8% joining umbrella companies.