A new survey from small business lender iwoca has revealed the top freelancer hiring trends among small businesses in the UK. The study found that 47 per cent of small business owners had used a freelancer in the past, with 65 per cent saying they would likely need to use freelancers in future to help their business’ growth.
The study revealed that the top three roles that owners were likely to hire freelancers for were Web Designer (cited by 22 per cent of respondents), Accountant (20 per cent) and Social Media Manager (15 per cent).
The survey also examined hiring trends by breaking down the most commonly advertised roles on freelance job listing site Upwork. The most advertised role was Developer, with 243 openings, followed by Copywriter, which had 234 openings. Other roles in the top five were Sales Representative, Branding and Graphic Designer.
iwoca also used Upwork to analyse the highest paid freelance roles, with Search Engine Marketing Specialist (SEM) being the best paid, with an average hourly rate of £58.76. SEM utilises paid advertising to help businesses improve their search rankings.
On average, the study noted that full-time SEM Specialists typically make just £15.17 per hour (according to figures from Glassdoor), approximately 25 per cent of the average freelance rate. The high rates charged by freelance SEM Specialists, however, are reflective of the comparative scarcity of freelance SEM work compared to other roles, with just 13 freelance SEM jobs advertised on Upwork as of May 31 2022.
Finally, the study also revealed the lowest paid freelancer roles on the UK market, each of which had an average hourly rate of under £20. The lowest paid role was Sales Representative (£17.03 per hour), followed by Customer Service Representative (£18.28 per hour) and Data Entry Executives (£19.01 per hour).
