I have been making a living doing the "local" passenger missions (x number of tourists, aid workers, scientists, etc). Pretty good living too. I don't like taking a mission with a passenger name as I find the demanding passenger(s) to be a pain in the rear and I really don't want to make all the jumps for a sightseeing tour. Fine, the local stuff pays less but I can run more of them and sometimes the redirects are quite valuble. However the last couple of days the payout seem to have been greatly reduced (as much as 2/3rds as far as I can tell), and this at stations I am allied with atleast 3 of the minor factions and friendly with most of the rest. Forgive me, but when significant changes are noticed and remain consistent, the tract record begs the question of "has this been nurffed?" again. Just me or others noticing this?
Has the state changed for your local faction? For instance has it gone to retreat or something? I'm not the background simulation (BGS) expert, but I know it can affect missions massively. What system and station are you working from?
Eddb.io has that currently as state: none, which I think means your niche has fallen off, although many here are better with the BGS than I am. My home system, Dvorsi, has gone to None recently and everything dried up, although I had been away exploring so had that down to a lack of reputation