While it has long been known that the IT sector can be lucrative area to apply your trade, it seems that for contractors, it is about to get even better.
New research carried out by Giant Group has revealed that 64 per cent of IT contractors who responded to the survey have indicated that they are expecting a pay rise in 2014.
This would be the third year in a row in which such a rise has occurred, with 63 per cent predicting an increase in 2012 and 62 per cent the year before that.
What’s more, the vast majority of respondents (81 per cent) indicated that the average gap in between projects stood at just 31 days, highlighting the number of opportunities currently available to IT freelancers.
Optimism is high in the profession, and with good reason. Recent UK skills shortages in the IT sector have left contractors with specialist skills in high demand.
“The nationwide shortage of permanent applicants, especially in the software development fields, is also fuelling demand for contractors. As permie vacancies go unfilled, clients are turning to contractors to keep projects on track. This increasing demand is putting upward pressure on contractor pay rates,” Greenfield IT’s Hannah Falfoul said.
Matthew Brown, managing director of the Giant Group told Greenfields Recruitment, “It’s very encouraging to see such strong results posted, particularly when compared to the previous two years. What can be seen here is continued growth, representative of increasing confidence in the contractor market.
“Across the board we’re seeing anticipation of increased earnings and opportunities which hopefully will continue to be a reality in 2014 and onwards. The results aren’t entirely surprising; as many organisations increasingly look to update their IT systems, experienced contractors will be needed to handle system migration projects,” he added
Mr Brown went onto say that the ongoing regulation developments in the finance sector could also explain the increasing confidence shown in that industry, to some extent.
This last point appears to be accurate, as a recent report from Robert Walters found that IT contractors working in the financial services sector have seen their pay rise by 13 per cent so far this year.
Improved market conditions in the industry have allowed banks to focus on other areas outside of regulatory spending and led to double-digit pay rises for freelancers.
Average growth across the private sector saw rises of five per cent over the first few months of 2014, but it was the year-on-year improvements of the financial sector that showed the greatest wage boosts.
Some 67 per cent of financial contractors who responded to the Giant Group’s report stated that they predicted a pay rise in their industry this year. This is an impressive rise of seven per cent on the 2013 estimate.
It seems then, that the two reports support each other in determining that it is set to be a bright year ahead for contractors in the IT and financial sectors.
Contractors wishing to calculate their earnings can use umbrella company calculator to do so
