Technology

In 2026, contractors continue to be concentrated in the higher income bracket with around 59% earning Euro 500 and above. The €600–€999 band remains the largest category, remaining similar to the last year. The share of contractors earning €1,000 or more remains at 7%.

Shifts are more visible in the middle-income bands. The proportion earning €500–€599 fell slightly from 19% to 17%, while the €400–€499 group declined from 17% to 13%. At the same time, the share of contractors in the €300–€399 range rose from 10% to 14%. Overall, the results remain fairly consistent. 

Private organisations have again shown up as the main source of contracting opportunities, while demand from the public sector has remained limited.

Starting 2026, 79% of contractors believe their experience is in demand, 20% are neutral, and 1% disagree. This is consistent with last year i.e. 2025, suggesting overall confidence in ICT contractors’ employability remains strong and stable. Moreover, 41% of contractors agree that it is easy to find another contract, 45% are neutral, and 14% disagree. This represents a slight improvement in confidence compared with 2025, when fewer agreed (38%) and more disagreed (22%).

For learnings, 73% of the respondents agree that they are learning a great deal by working on their current project, and 88% believe these skills will be useful in future roles. 89% of contractors manage their own skill development, reflecting the self-directed nature of learning and upskilling in contracting. 84% feel they have sufficient autonomy to complete their work. Just 30% of respondents agree that they receive training or development support from clients, 42% of respondents disagree, indicating that learning remains largely self-driven rather than client led.

For 2026, ICT contractors are more cautious in their outlook than in 2025. Looking back over the last 12 months, 45% believe contract availability stayed the same and 33% reported an increase, while 22% perceived a decrease. For the next 12 months, almost half (49%) expect contract availability to remain unchanged, 35% expect an increase in availability, while 16% are expecting contract availability to decline.

Expectations around daily rates are also conservative. 55% of respondents believe their rate will stay the same in the year ahead, up from 49% in 2025, 38% expect an increase down from 47% who expected an increase in 2025. In terms of working days the majority of respondents (77%) expect no change, while just 15% expect an increase. Longer term confidence in the performance of the contracting sector remains positive, with 53% expecting growth over the next three to five years, although 17% expect the sector to decrease. In terms of the Irish economy 32% expect improvement in the economy this year compared to economic performance in 2025, 36% expect no change, and 32% expect a decrease in performance.

The reason for this conservative outlook may be due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions leading to uncertainty in the markets. However, these reasons remain assumed.