There was good news for the Government last week as newly-released employment figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that UK unemployment had fallen by 57,000 from December 2012 to May 2013 to just a shade over 2.5 million people. Although the overall figures were up, there was less positive news for freelancers, as the figures showed that the numbers of self-employed has fallen, after seeing almost five years of consistent growth. The official tally was down some 28,000, leaving the UK’s self-employed population at 4.1 million.
The number of individuals describing themselves as self-employed has exploded during the financial crisis, growing almost 10% in the last four years. This growth was largely attributed to big corporates jettisoning full-time staff, and a lack of jobs forcing job-seekers into starting their own business. Now jobs have tentatively returned to the market, it seem reasonable to assume this drop in freelancers is simply a return to the full-time norm for those that suffered during the recession – a rebalancing of the jobs market, if you like.
The other standout stat from the latest figures was an increase in the number of long-term unemployed (those out of work for over a year), which grew by 32,000 to total 915,000. Although the Government has been tinkering with incentives for companies to take on employees (such as the Employee Allowance), the Federation of Small Businesses is now calling for a shift in focus towards helping the long-term unemployed back into work, National Chairman John Allan saying:
“At present, there are few financial incentives for employers to take on disadvantaged job seekers such as the long-term unemployed. It’s time for the government to review the balance of incentives that currently exist between Work Programme providers and employers.”
Although the ever-growing freelance sector has been largely viewed as good news, many longtime freelancers have voiced concern that a crowded market would only act to lower prices and make finding new clients harder – so a slight reduction in our numbers could, in fact, be viewed as a positive.
Is fewer freelancers on the market good news or bad? Let us know in the comments!
Photo by Basheer Tome
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