Skip to main content
We’re here with practical IT information for your business. Access comprehensive IT resources and more.

Search

How to choose the right computer equipment for your business to increase your productivity and efficiency without it costing the earth.

Business software helps you complete a range of tasks. Choose the right software, provide support and train your staff with our introduction.

It is highly likely that you depend on the internet for some aspects of your business. Find out how you can use the internet more effectively.

Good communication with customers, partners and suppliers is vital for business success. This summary explores business communication methods.

How would you cope if your IT system failed or was breached? We cover the main IT security issues and how to protect against them.

Good IT management can help you choose, use and implement IT. Our overview helps you manage IT in a way that maximises the return on your investment.

IT support is vital if you rely on your IT system. But how can you set up an effective safety net in case things go wrong? We explore the options.

Getting the right IT is just the first step. Appropriate training, policies and working practices can help you maximise return on your IT investment.

Freelancer fortunes improve as economic bounce back begins

11 May 2021

The latest survey of sole traders shows that UK freelancers have seen a "remarkable" recovery in earnings in the first quarter of 2021 after an incredibly difficult year.

New research conducted by the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) and PeoplePerHour has found that freelancers' earnings and confidence in the economy saw a "remarkable recovery" to pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2021.

In Q1 2021, freelancers' average quarterly earnings stood at £20,778 - 20% up from £17,283 at the end of 2020. At the same time, freelancers' average spare capacity (the number of weeks they go each quarter without work) dropped from 4.3 weeks to 3.7 weeks. Although this is still not quite back to pre-pandemic levels, the findings show that freelancers compensated by raising their day rates.

Freelancers' confidence in the UK economy also dramatically rose. Short-term (three-month) confidence increased from -27.8 to -4.3, which is the highest it has reached since Q4 2015, before the EU referendum. Long-term (12-month) economic confidence rose from -27.7 to -0.2 - also the highest since Q4 2015.

The key metric that has not significantly recovered is freelancers' confidence in the performance of their own businesses. This is the first time since 2014 that freelancers have had less confidence in their business than the economy. Respondents said that "government regulation related to hiring freelancers" and "government tax policy" were the two main factors negatively affecting their business - ahead of the pandemic.

Andy Chamberlain, IPSE director of policy, said: "The roadmap to opening up the UK has driven a remarkable recovery in freelancers' earnings and also their confidence in the economy. Economic confidence among freelancers is in fact now at its highest level since before Brexit. After a dark year in which they were disproportionally hit by the financial impact of the pandemic, freelancers are again seeing cause to hope … Historically, the freelance sector has always been a key driver of economic recovery and it is clearly raring to go.

"Amid the optimism, however, there are also lingering causes for concern. Above all, the recent changes to IR35 are clearly damaging freelancers' confidence in the future of their businesses - not unreasonably as they see the chaos now running through the contractor hiring market."

Meanwhile, the latest quarterly SME Trends Survey from the CBI shows that SME manufacturing output is expected to improve markedly in the coming quarter. Its survey of 260 SME manufacturing firms saw optimism grow at the fastest pace in seven years. The volume of total new orders grew, reflecting a rise in domestic orders, while export orders were flat. In the next quarter, output and domestic orders are expected to bounce back, with predictions for output growth at the strongest in the survey's history (since 1988).

Written by Rachel Miller.

Stay up-to-date with business advice and news

Sign up to this lively and colourful newsletter for new and more established small businesses.

Contact us

Make an enquiry