I'm contracting right now. I have to be honest I can't really complain in this instance. That being said, I'm located in Austria due to family reasons and it seems a total wasteland here contract-wise; and feels like the grim reaper is behind the next contract.

In the EU, the trend that I'm seeing right now is even "remote" contracts require you to be located in that specific EU country. Haven't tried US yet, but I assume without personal contacts and impeccable credentials it is not realistic to convince someone beyond the great pond to hire me.

I imagine my colleagues in the UK or elsewhere might not feel the impending doom, because contracting/consulting over there is pretty much the norm.