Freelancer confidence picks up

Freelancer confidence has improved but has yet to stage a meaningful recovery following the 2016 Brexit vote, a survey today suggests.

Despite a slight quarter-onquarter rise in confidence and a 13 per cent increase in earnings, a structural shift caused by Brexit is preventing the confidence of the UK freelance sector from returning to pre-referendum levels, according to the latest confidence index research from IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-employed) and PPH (Peopleperhour).

The report reveals that 34 per cent of freelancers are now more confident in their business performance for the next 12 months, compared to 30 per cent last quarter. Meanwhile, the number of freelancers who are less confident in the wider economy has dropped from 70 per cent at the end of 2017 to 61 per cent in the first three months of 2018.

This quarter’s index also shows the end of the recession the sector experienced in the second half of 2017 after freelancer day rates dropped for two consecutive quarters.

However, the overall picture is still “distinctly negative”, the report notes. Freelancer confidence – both in their own business performance and the wider economy – remains in negative territory. It has still not recovered since its drastic decline after the structural shift caused by the Brexit vote.

Suneeta Johal, IPSE head of research, said: “Although there is something to celebrate in the recent rise in freelancer confidence, what we see here is clearly a mixed picture.

“Freelancers have just not been able to return to the same levels of confidence or daily income as before the referendum – or even before the start of last year.”

Xenios Thrasyvoulou, founder and chief executive of PPH, added: “As freelancers are seeking new avenues to secure their income, they are discovering that collaboration can be beneficial.”