According to new market research, 2013 could be the year that interim workers such as freelancers and umbrella company contractors experience fantastic growth.
One of the largest and most well-respected professional recruitment industry bodies in the UK, APSCo, discovered that permanent worker hiring was down at the end of last year while at the same time the hiring of freelancers, limited company contractors, and other interim workers is up. In fact, permanent job recruitment has dropped off by around 2 per cent while freelancer demand has gone up by approximately 4 per cent, and APSCo’s figures say that the trend’s going to continue well into 2013.
I don’t know about you, but when ASPCo comes out with figures like that, I sit up and pay attention. In this case I might have even spit out a bit of my morning coffee as well; while 4 per cent growth sounds like small potatoes, it’s pretty significant indeed – and if this demand continues or ramps up across the months, contractors will be sitting pretty before the end of the year.
Industry experts say that the reasons behind the boost are more than likely tied to the economy, which is still struggling to recover even years after the credit crisis that plunged us into a worldwide recession. Businesses desperate to continue to keep from going under have had to find ways to save money, and using a freelancer instead of hiring on additional permanent staff has always been an excellent way to save on expenses while still keeping up with productivity; it’s a win-win solution for both employers and contract workers as far as I’m concerned.
In fact, UK umbrella companies have been weighing in on the new figures, including Tarpon, one of the country’s largest and most well-respected. A spokesman from the firm remarked that the new data will act as a confidence booster for all the temporary workers currently in the market right now, especially since permanent positions are usually seen as more reliable and respectable than contract positions or temporary billings; now, the spokesperson said, contractors and freelancers can hold their heads up high, secure in the knowledge that their method of working is a legitimate one that helps to support the economic recovery efforts.
APSCo’s chief executive, Ann Swain, also let her thoughts be known regarding the new data. Ms Swain remarked that the recruitment authority has seen a trend to hire fewer permanent staff, instead favouring temporary personnel that can accomplish the same tasks at a fraction of the price. It’s true that a drop in permanent billings isn’t necessarily a sign of economic health, the chief executive added that it’s hard to argue with the flexibility contract working offers temporary workers and employers alike.She goes on to be quoted, as saying: “Whilst an increase in temporary placements may not appear good news as permanent hires fall, the use of contract workers is offering a great deal of flexibility to both employers and employees.”
