Outside IR35 Contracts slip into Christmas

The latest data from Outside Spy shows that the number of advertised IT contracts “Outside IR35” appears to be slipping into Christmas.

Numbers of advertised contracts usually fall off in December, as thoughts turn more to the New Year for hirers and contractors alike, but this year has seen a stronger falling trend than normal.

Last year even witnessed a rise in contract numbers towards the end of the year, whereas our figures show that the decline in advertised contract numbers could be seen to start from the end of summer onwards.

"We've witnessed a slow but steady decline in contract numbers advertised as Outside IR35 since the end of summer" explained Outside Spy co-founder Brian Stalley. "As far as our data shows, the proportion of contracts advertised as Outside IR35 remains fairly steady, it's just that overall numbers of contracts have been slowly declining over the last 3 months or so. We attribute this fall off to the wider economic picture which suggests a slowdown or recession is underway, rather than any specific factors which might impact on a hirer's decision to use contract staff".

Outside Spy still has over 1500 IT contracts advertised as Outside IR35 on the database, suggesting that it's not too late to pick up an early Christmas present of an Outside IR35 contract for those in the market for a new contract in 2023.

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