Job market forecast for 2025?

[Omega]

I am a contractor and, apparently, I was lucky to have a contract until middle of July this year. However, I have been on a bench since then
Spoke to lots of recruiters and they said the slowdown for contractors has been for more than a year
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
It looks like businesses are still hesitant to start large transformation programmes, but how long they can hold on? Because IT systems need upgrades, the IT architecture needs to evolve, organisations need to restructure. However, all of this seem to have been put on ice...
What is 2025 going to bring us?
Does anyone have a forecast with a reference to confirm it? I only spoke to recruiters who say there is a hope, but it is only because too many businesses waited for too long to initiate their transformation programmes, so there is a massive backlog and it will come down like money rain. At the same time, I feel our quality of live is falling and I read we are not attractive for foreign investment, maybe these are the first shoots of our upcoming stagnation?
Thanks

 

[MashBag]

Are you an PM or BA or sys/net tech?
Just bailed out myself.

 

[Omega]

I usually do PM, Programme Management, PMO or Change Management, typically digital transformation with ERPs, CRMs, AI/ML etc though TOM also falls into my plate

 

[Leon103]

I am a contractor and, apparently, I was lucky to have a contract until middle of July this year. However, I have been on a bench since then
Spoke to lots of recruiters and they said the slowdown for contractors has been for more than a year
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
It looks like businesses are still hesitant to start large transformation programmes, but how long they can hold on? Because IT systems need upgrades, the IT architecture needs to evolve, organisations need to restructure. However, all of this seem to have been put on ice...
What is 2025 going to bring us?
Does anyone have a forecast with a reference to confirm it? I only spoke to recruiters who say there is a hope, but it is only because too many businesses waited for too long to initiate their transformation programmes, so there is a massive backlog and it will come down like money rain. At the same time, I feel our quality of live is falling and I read we are not attractive for foreign investment, maybe these are the first shoots of our upcoming stagnation?
Thanks

I guess this comes down to money and the financial forecast is worst than predicted, looking like mid 2026 before any pick up.

 

[Larse]

I usually do PM, Programme Management, PMO or Change Management, typically digital transformation with ERPs, CRMs, AI/ML etc though TOM also falls into my plate

Have you looked over here (Ireland)? By all accounts, it seems to be hard to find people.

 

[Omega]

Have you looked over here (Ireland)? By all accounts, it seems to be hard to find people.

I don’t mind working anywhere, but I don’t see many opportunities there either

 

[Clint]

I dunno if it applies to many other sectors but where I work we manufacture amongst other things,medical dressings. Our customers (so we're told) have been massively overstocked as a result of stockpiling during covid and the hospitals being quiet during the same time. Things (so we're told) are now beginning to pick up,order wise.
It's been a shyte year...I've given up trusting or believing or indeed giving a flying @#£% about anything...

 

[MashBag]

I usually do PM, Programme Management, PMO or Change Management, typically digital transformation with ERPs, CRMs, AI/ML etc though TOM also falls into my plate

Is it with going permie until it picks up?

 

[Stu]

I work for a pretty decently sized MSP.
We're ditching many of our contractors. What we're finding is that we've got similar projects that keep repeating themselves and it's cheaper to hire perms and then ship them out as needed.

Most of our Programme and Project managers are either provided internally and then moved about, or we use a single company that we outsource to.

Even the traditional stuff like low-code and no-code systems that are usually popular with contractors, we're actually building an internal resource pool.

The public sector customer I work for has just ditched every single contractor bar one (who apparently, they've been trying to offer a permanent job to for years).

 

[Omega]

Is it with going permie until it picks up?

Perm will pay about twice less. And, if I go perm, then I will want to stay for a while, but recruiters often think I will leave after the market improves... Contractor's curse

 

[MashBag]

Yup.
But 50% of is better than 100% of fcuk all... and they say PMs can't count

Tbh contracts were getting tight when I bailed.

 

[Omega]

Yup.
But 50% of is better than 100% of fcuk all... and they say PMs can't count

Tbh contracts were getting tight when I bailed.

Yes , 50% is better than nothing. I am trying to suss what is behind the corner and read a forecast for the next year - I did not have a single day of break from June 2020 until July 2024
How ai see is the government made contracting difficult by IR35. However, they now made perm hiring difficult too by increases in NIC by employers, so there might be more contract jobs
Agree the contracts are getting tight - I am now quite happy to receive 60% of what I commanded in 2022, it is still twice more than a perm role.

 

[MashBag]

Yes , 50% is better than nothing. I am trying to suss what is behind the corner and read a forecast for the next year - I did not have a single day of break from June 2020 until July 2024
How ai see is the government made contracting difficult by IR35. However, they now made perm hiring difficult too by increases in NIC by employers, so there might be more contract jobs
Agree the contracts are getting tight - I am now quite happy to receive 60% of what I commanded in 2022, it is still twice more than a perm role.

I personally think everything will get tighter, so perm plus increased NIC is still cheaper than a contactor.

Someone once said, it is not the fitest, nor the most intelligent that survive, but those with the ability to bounce.

 

[Omega]

Current situation is not great, pity no forecast provided
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk...ction-output-since-2023-pmi-shows-2024-11-22/

 

[MashBag]

We can only deal with the hand we are dealt, play the cards we have well and ignore the ones we don't have. I am having to change too.

 

[Omega]

Asked Google and their AI collated that we are likely to grow above 1% next year… Fingers crossed

 

[Omega]

Asked Google AI and this is what I got:
The UK economy's 2025 forecast varies depending on the source, with some predicting growth of up to 2% and others predicting growth of around 1.5%:

• Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR): The OBR's October 2024 Economic and fiscal outlook forecasts 2.0% GDP growth in 2025.
  
  
• Treasury: The Treasury's November 2024 survey of independent forecasts predicts 1.3% GDP growth in 2025.
  
  
• EY ITEM Club: The EY ITEM Club Autumn Forecast predicts 1.5% GDP growth in 2025.
  
  
• CBI: The CBI's economic forecast anticipates 1.9% GDP growth in 2025.
  
  
  

 

[Larse]

Asked Google AI and this is what I got:
The UK economy's 2025 forecast varies depending on the source, with some predicting growth of up to 2% and others predicting growth of around 1.5%:

• Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR): The OBR's October 2024 Economic and fiscal outlook forecasts 2.0% GDP growth in 2025.
  
  
• Treasury: The Treasury's November 2024 survey of independent forecasts predicts 1.3% GDP growth in 2025.
  
  
• EY ITEM Club: The EY ITEM Club Autumn Forecast predicts 1.5% GDP growth in 2025.
  
  
• CBI: The CBI's economic forecast anticipates 1.9% GDP growth in 2025.
  
  

Not sure if that helps much if the trend is away from contractors.

 

[jeremy Hall]

Recessions can be good for contractors as companies are often unwilling to commit to permanent staff in uncertain times. Saying that it's 20 years since I contracted. I hope the markets not dead as I may wish to do a couple of short term stints after my current role expires. Wouldn't mind doing some work up north UK. Never worked up north before. Also would be interested in a stint in Australia.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Fascinated by this thread as I have absolutely no idea what anyone's talking about.