Optimism Prevails Within UK Freelancing Community

It seems these are good times to be a freelancer in the UK. According to the first-quarter Freelancer Confidence Index from the PCG, a spirit of optimism pervades the contractor community: an impressive 70.1% of independent professionals expect improvement in the national economy over the year ahead and about a third of them have confidence they will do better in 2014.

optimism cannot fail to spark positive thoughts…

As PCG economic policy adviser Georgios Nikolaidis pointed out, confidence within the freelance community bodes well for future economic growth. Although the majority of contractors do not expect the economic revival to boost their earnings in the near future, their optimism cannot fail to spark positive thoughts: after all, independent professionals operate in virtually every industry and are well aware of the trends in them, Nikolaidis noted.

52.2% see the number of available contracts increasing this year…

It is very encouraging to see that 33.5% of freelancers expect improvement in their business during 2014 versus 11.9% anticipating a deterioration. Freelancers also reveal an optimistic outlook when it comes to demand: 52.2% see the number of available contracts increasing this year as opposed to just 9.6% who are braced for a decline.

Commenting on the issue of pay, Nikolaidis started by saying that freelancers currently earn £500 on average per day. This impressive figure, however, does not alter the fact that pay growth remains subdued, as is the case in the overall economy. During the first quarter of 2014 only 11.8% of freelancers collected larger fees while 77.5% reported no change. For the year ahead, 26.7% expect an increase in their pay rates and 63.1% believe their fee will stay the same.