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The average pay rate for those working as IT contractors has risen by a modest 3.3% over the past 12 months. This figure was determined by an analysis of Computer People’s contracts database and although 3.3% is the average figure, there was a wide variation across the sectors.
The last 12 months proved to be fairly lucrative for contractors in senior IT management, with pay increases of 12%. Contractors taking on jobs as application analysists also did well, with average increases of a fraction under 9%. ERP contractors also saw an increase of 5%.
Not all IT contractors saw increases; indeed, some saw a dip in their pay rates compared with 2014. Those taking jobs as software engineers saw their payslips marginally reduce by 0.58% and web developers by 0.61%.
How will IT contracting pay rates fare in the future? This is difficult to determine. Growth, or indeed a slump in demand in certain skills, can affect this, especially when determining the stats for the final quarter of 2015. Richard Coe, the operations director at Computer People, said: “While Q3 exceeded expectations, the circumstances surrounding this growth make it difficult to predict Q4 activity with any real confidence. But in a market of high demand and low supply, growth in both [rates] and [contracts] is likely.”
Adding to the uncertainty is the fact that the law of supply and demand does not appear to apply to the world of IT; for example, despite the rise in ERP contract pay rates, demand in this particular sector slumped by almost one-quarter. Analysts, despite increased pay, saw demand for their services tumble by 14%.
The shortage of available skills is still helping the majority of IT contractors to maintain − if not improve − their daily rates; however, the slump in demand in certain sectors must give cause for concern.