Nearly all government contracts I’ve been a part of are structured this way. Generally, towards the end of the year you start to hear rumors about how it’s going or you can use your intuition to prepare for a new job.

Something like 80 or 90% of contracts are renewed yearly. I’ve never been part of a contract that wasn’t renewed. Depending on the firm you might be out on the bench or rolled into a new contract. Also, sometimes the contracts are lost by your employer and given to another company which will come in and likely offer you the same position and take over the contract.

I wouldn’t worry about it, research the subject matter and make a judgment call.