A new survey by international office space supplier, Regus, suggests that the UK’s SMEs are turning to contractors to help them through the uncertain economic times.
49% of SMEs that trade internationally say they intend to hire freelancers and 39% plan to hire people who will work remotely.
The research also discovered that overall business confidence has dropped by 20% since April. However, SMEs that trade overseas displayed 88% business confidence, compared to domestic firms who are only 79% confident.
Celia Donne, the regional director of Regus, said SMEs know they have to continue their investment in growth, and are turning to freelancers and remote workers as a way to boost their headcounts. 27% of employed people in the UK are now classed as flexible workers, demonstrating that the employment market has undergone a significant shift in recent years.
Another survey, this time from Simply Business, found that 27% of small firms intend to increase their headcount over the coming 12 months. Whilst this sounds like good news, the downside is that nearly three-quarters of SMEs are not intending to hire new staff next year, and in fact they could be planning to make redundancies.
Burdensome bureaucracy is putting a lot of companies off taking on new employees and government incentives have done little to encourage them. The National Insurance Holiday scheme fell flat and although the Chancellor has come up with measures to help young people into work, only time will tell whether they will be successful.
In the run up to Christmas, hiring will slow down as many companies look forward to the festive break. Hopefully, things will start to pick up again in the New Year.
© 2011 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Image: superhero trois by !!!! scogle
