New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown that, between January and February 2021, the UK saw its first month-on-month increase in freelancer numbers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
The ONS data showed that the number of freelance workers in the UK stood at 4,331,000 in February, a slight increase from 4,313,000 the previous month. The key factor behind this increase was a rise in female freelancers, with the number of female self-employed workers rising from 1,547,000 in January to 1,576,000 in February.
Despite freelancer numbers seeing their first month of growth since the pandemic began last year, February’s improved figure still stood 617,000 lower than the number of UK freelancers recorded just prior to the pandemic in February 2020.
Responding to the new ONS figures, Andy Chamberlain, Director of Policy at the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), commented: “This first month-on-month increase in freelancer numbers in over a year is cause for cautious optimism.”
“Although the year-on-year drop is testament to the drastic financial damage of the pandemic, the monthly increase – taken with our data on rising business performance – gives us hope that the freelance sector is on its way back.”
Chamberlain added: “Freelancers are the leading edge of the economy and have always played a key part in economic recovery. To fully unleash this potential, however, government must do more to support the sector. Many excluded freelancers are now struggling under enormous amounts of debt, and government should consider ways to relieve this.”
“Meanwhile, the IR35 changes have left many contractors trying to navigate the near-unregulated world of umbrella companies: government must step in to support them and underpin the continued recovery of the sector.”
