While economic volatility is normally a bad sign, the freelancing and contracting community welcomes the opportunity that such uncertainty brings to them.
According to the Association of Professional Staffing Companies, temporary workers such as umbrella company contractors or freelancers are often selected in lieu of new permanent employees in times of economic unrest. In fact, the newest research from Apsco found that while permanent position availability declined by 2 per cent last year, temporary working opportunities actually increased by around 4 per cent, and the trade industry body believes that these trends will most likely continue for 2013.
It’s a massive commitment to hire on permanent workers, said Apsco chief executive, Ann Swain, as you’ve got to factor in such expenses as possible redundancy payment liabilities, pension payments, and also just immediate salary costs as well. However, using temporary workers obviates the need for any of these expensive costs while still ensuring that a business can remain competitive in an already tenuous marketplace.
Ms Swain predicted that many firms will adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach when it comes to hiring additional permanent staff this year. Instead 2013 is much more likely to be a banner year for the freelancing community as firms tighten their belts as much as they can without compromising the goods or services they provide to their customers.
