Inflation‑Adjusted Value $75/hour in 1990 ≈ $192.74/hour in 2026 dollars (based on CPI inflation data).
This means what you could buy with $75 in 1990 would now cost roughly $193 due to the cumulative effects of inflation over the past 36 years. -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Steve Beaver Sent: Thursday, February 5, 2026 1:09 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] mainframe skills - was cross posted When Indian recruiters call now I start by saying unless you are offering $120/Hr W2 then you do not need to be talking to me and you need to tell your managers that you are getting push back on the low rates. If we ALL push back all at the same time recruiters and companies will get the point Sent from my iPhone No one said I could type with one thumb > On Feb 5, 2026, at 12:33, Pommier, Rex > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Another issue related to this is the fact that some (many/most??) US firms > won't hire independent contractors. They require a contractor be hired > through an agency. Lets see, less money for the worker, more money coming > out of the company's coffers. Lose, lose proposition. > > -----Original Message----- > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> On Behalf Of > Mike Beer > Sent: Thursday, February 5, 2026 12:08 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [EXTERNAL] mainframe skills - was cross posted > > This problem is not restricted to US projects. > > I recently was contacted for an Austrian banking project with specific > mainframe skills plus agile experience (SCRUM master) plus JAVA development. > This skill set is rare - the recruiting firm offered EUR 60/hour. > This is ridiculous - on the other hand this bank's software keeps crashing > very often. So they will have cheap people, but not the necessary skills. > > And I agree, most - but not all - recruiters have no clue what they are > talking about. > > IBM does not really help to keep the mainframe business - instead of > promoting the stability of mission critical infrastructure, everything is AI. > It is good to have at least some people who know what they are doing, instead > of having to ask ChatGPT for every task. > > Regards > Mike > > -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- > Von: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> Im Auftrag von > Steve Thompson > Gesendet: Donnerstag, 5. Februar 2026 17:55 > An: [email protected] > Betreff: Re: Cross Posted > > Before anyone starts arguments on supply and demand and capitalism, free > market and the like, (again) understand this: > > What Steve and I and others like us are running into is a large number of > recruiter/ing firms who are all trying to get the same contracts. So to get > the account, they quote low. > > Then on DICE, INDEED, Monster and the others (some of these are being bought > and merged), but the end effect is offering rates that are below what we were > making about 1990 and that is NOT adjusted for inflation. > > Add to this that the majority of the people contacting me do not know how > JES2 or JES3 is pronounced. They don't know most of the acronyms we use in > the industry. They can't read a tech based resume to understand that one is > not a sysprog, but is a software developer. > > Just wanted to get us on a level playing field before the noise starts. > > -- > Regards, > Steve Thompson > > >> On 2/5/2026 10:43 AM, Steve Beaver wrote: >> For the US people, I have been beat to death looking for zOS DB2 >> Systems DBA’s and people that know ACF2, RACF, and TSS >> >> These skills are RARE. Doing my research Recruiters at offering $60 >> per hour where the honest labor rate should be $150 per hour or higher >> >> My suggestion is that if you have any of these skills. Tell the >> Recruiter $150/Hr or go away >> >> As a data point. They pay you $60 per hour and they charge the >> customer $150 per hour >> >> >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> No one said I could type with one thumb >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send >> email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to > [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to > [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, > send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
