Exclusive: Almost a quarter of firms have let staff go due to pandemic with a fifth now hiring freelancers
Workers are increasingly entering unstable work patterns due firms cutting cut staff and replacing them with freelancers.
Research published today and shared exclusively with City PM reveals 23 per cent of business owners have let permanent staff go this year, while a fifth are going for more flexible workers.
The data showed 42 of freelancers experienced an increase in demand with more than a third saying it’s due to UK firms letting permanent staff members going.
This comes after the ONS released that job vacancies reached a record high of 1.3m, as the country marks UK Freelacncer Day, today.
it also reveals that 61 per cent of freelancers have kept their rates the same despite a turbulent economic climate, in a bit to maintain work, but two-fifths plan to raise them in 2022 and just under a third have already, owing to economic concerns.
The survey, commissioned by Fiverr, quizzed more than 1,500 freelance workers and over 1,000 business owners.
“Since the pandemic, freelancers have become a vital part of the UK workforce, supporting businesses with a rapid shift to digital and remote work”, said Peggy de Lange, VP of International Expansion at Fiverr comments.
“Now, with the rising cost of living impacting businesses’ bottom line, freelancers are helping to fill gaping talent gaps created by a combination of staff cuts and the Great Resignation.”
“However, our data confirms that freelancers are also feeling the financial pinch, so government should ensure to support them and the integral role they are playing as this situation evolves”.