Contractor Profile

The average holidays taken were reported as 21 days in 2025 down one day since last year. 66% of respondents reported taking less than 23 days holidays in the year. The opportunity cost of taking holidays may well be the reason that almost two thirds of contractors take less than 23 days annual leave, as contractors generally do not receive any holiday pay benefit.

In 2025 higher earnings and job autonomy remain the key motivations for contractors, with 77% citing higher earnings and 69% citing independence as their main reasons for choosing contract work. 42% were motivated to choose contracting as a way to increase their pension. 23% were motivated to choose contracting following redundancy – this is up 5% from 18% in 2024 report, perhaps reflecting the layoffs seen in 2024 particularly in the tech sector. 11% were motivated to choose contracting to get back into the workforce following a career break.

The average daily rate has decreased by 3% year-on-year, now standing at €552. This drop is partly explained by the changing age profile of the contracting sector; an increase in the number of younger contractors who are typically paid less than older counterparts, combined with reports of rate reductions in some sectors likely driven by increased availability of contractors following lay offs in some of the big tech companies last year.

While we are seeing a slight drop in the overall average daily rate in 2025 this does not apply to all age groups. Younger contractors (29 and under) experienced the largest decrease in average daily rates, down 8% from 2024 to 2025, while those aged 60 and older saw a 5% decline. However, all other age groups reported increases in their average daily rate.

Contractors in the ICT and finance sectors have also reported increases. In contrast, those in the pharma, engineering, and medical locum industries experienced an average daily rate decline, however it should be noted that this average daily rate drop does not apply to all age groups or genders in those industries.

Contractors across all sectors and genders report significantly higher satisfaction with their rate of pay in 2025 compared to 2024. The percentage of contractors reporting satisfaction has risen for all age groups except those aged 29 or younger, their percentage reported satisfaction rate remains the same at 80% year on year.

Its official contractors are happy! 84% of respondents expressed satisfaction with their current life in general. Contractors also expressed satisfaction with their work. In the survey, contractors were asked about their level of satisfaction with some key elements of their job and working life. The flexibility of hours gained the highest satisfaction from the contractors 86%, followed by the current life in general 85%, location of the job 84%, rate of pay 84%, overall work satisfaction 84%, remote working options 74% and work-life balance 75%. 2025 report sees most of the factors contributing to life and work satisfaction increase from 2024 results most notably an 18% rise in the percentage of respondents expressing satisfaction with the rate of pay and a 9% increase in the percentage expressing satisfaction with their current life in general.

Overall, the contractors were satisfied with their career, whereby 89% of respondents reported that they are satisfied with the success they had achieved in their career and 84% are satisfied with the progress they had made towards meeting their overall career goals. The well-being of contractors is relatively good, with just 22% of respondents reported loneliness, and 13% reported burnout, both down slightly from 2024.