| UK freelancers number 1.4 million, reveals study |
| |
|
| | A research study carried
out by the Small
Business Research Centre
at Kingston University
on behalf of The
Professional Contractors
Group (PCG), which
represents the UK’s
freelancers, has
revealed that there are
now 1.4 million
freelancers in the UK.
The figure reflects a
14% growth in this
alternative way of
working since 1998.
Commenting on the
study, John Brazier,
managing director of PCG
said: “We are delighted
and proud to be able to
present the first
authoritative study of
the UK’s freelance
population. This study
gives us a credible
outline of the size and
characteristics of our | |
|
| | dynamic freelance
workforce, which has not
existed up until now.”
Experts from Kingston
University used data
from the Labour Force
Survey and the
Department of Business,
Enterprise and
Regulatory Reform’s
(BERR) SME statistics to
explore the size of the
UK freelance workforce.
Other notable findings
revealed that:
of the 1.4
million freelancers, 63%
are male and 37% female;
58% define
themselves as working
“full time”, 42% as
working “part time”;
163,000 people
undertake freelance work
in a secondary role, as | |
| |
| | forms vary in different
sectors: limited
companies are the norm
in some and sole traders
the norm in others,
largely depending on
whether it is common to
use agencies to find
work.
Dr John Kitching,
co-author of the report,
commented: “Freelancers
play an important role
in the UK economy both
in their numbers, their
contribution to business
turnover and in the
range of activities they
perform. But there is no
‘typical’ freelance
worker; they vary in
their personal, work and
organisational
characteristics. We have
enjoyed having the
opportunity to
investigate the make-up
of this diverse and | |
|
| | significant group of
workers.”
Brazier added: “This
is an extremely valuable
snapshot of the
freelance workforce; it
also shows that there is
much work still to do in
order to build up a
really detailed and
thorough picture of the
market.
“As the only
non-profit association
that represents the UK’s
freelancers, we
continuously strive to
make freelancers’ voices
heard by Government –
the freelance community
has grown over the last
10 years and all the
signs indicate that it
will continue to grow;
it is our job to ensure
that Government listens
to freelancers’ needs.” | |
|
| | well as working in
another main job;
freelancers’
characteristics vary
between different
occupations: management,
IT, engineering and
broadcasting tend to be
male dominated;
translation services,
proof-reading and book
publishing appear to be
female-dominated;
The prevalent | |
|
|
Previous Page 
