Originally Posted by Unregistered

What's the difference between temp jobs of 6 mths (hourly rate) vs a contract job for 6 months (monthly pay) in gov setting?

I've interviewed for both types, and I don't quite get the difference. For temp jobs of hourly rate of the same duration, the pay even differs substantially among agencies (say, agency A can pay $17.50/hr, but agency B pays $13/hr, degree holder or not).

I asked the recruiter, he said that it's the hr that sets the rates, and he can't nego for us.
Even the recruiter is surprised that despite the lower rate, the hiring manager hopes to get someone who can stay the full course, like erm, the pay is not even that good and it's common knowledge that pple seek out better work opportunities. Very delulu to hope that candidates can stay the full course for such meagre salary for degree holders.

Can anyone working in gov hr shed some light on this?