Pressure on rates continues
Post date: Jul 24, 2019 9:5:53 AM
At the time of writing, my standard rates for translation and interpreting, normally considered quite high for the UK market, have remained relatively static for a couple of years. Rates for some EU clients have even fallen slightly due to pressure from company purchasing departments, while, at the same time, UK rates have increased. There is some survey evidence from the past couple of years that there is a degree of optimism regarding rates in the UK market. See for example:
Anecdotal evidence from colleagues paints a relatively negative picture, however. My own experience is that translation rates in the UK have increased in the past two years, bringing them closer to European levels. However, I find that there is some downward pressure on translation and interpreting rates in Europe, particularly among corporate companies. It will be interesting to see what effect Brexit has on this situation.
See my blog post on this topic under "Kennedy's Word".