Public sector contractor rates rise by a third

A survey of IT professionals across the UK has revealed that hourly pay for government IT contractors have risen by 33%, whereas those who work in the health and pharmaceutical sector had below-average increases of 5%.

IT professionals who described themselves as working in healthcare had a pay rise from a median of £34/hr at the beginning of 2004, to £36/hr at the end. On the other hand, during 2004 those in IT in the government sector had a rise from £30/hr to £40/hr – overtaking healthcare and pharmaceutical IT workers.

The overall median value of an IT contractor rose by 10% over the past year to £40 per hour. This means that government sector IT contractors are now earning the average wage for their profession.

A spokesperson for iProfileStats explained that those who took part in the survey were self-selecting when it came to being categorised in healthcare or government. IT contractors who worked directly for the government were more likely to put themselves in that category, whereas private companies contracted to work for the NHS would probably come under ‘health’.

According to the survey, IT contractors in finance experienced raises of 25%, making it the highest-paying area at a rate of £50/hr. Media and retail IT contractors experienced falls in their hourly rate.

The iProfile Skills Survey was commissioned by the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (ATSCo) and produced by statistical analysis company iProfileStats.