UK freelancers confident about business prospects

Confidence among British freelancers has risen markedly with record levels of freelancers in work, research published in the IPSE Freelancer Confidence Index has revealed.

Surveying 975 UK freelancers, the index reported increased levels of optimism with business confidence for the next three months up from 3.95 to 9.42 – findings accompanied by increased work levels and day rates.

38% of the freelancers surveyed reported an increase in the volume of work undertaken over the last three months while demand for freelancers was found to be higher than ever; 87% of freelancers were under contract at the time of the survey.

Day rates for freelancers were also found to have risen by 1% since the last quarter, up from £525 to £531 for the first quarter of 2015, and 27% of freelancers expect these rates to increase over the coming year.

In addition, the research highlighted that freelancer salaries now outperform the earning capacity of typical employees with average freelancer quarterly earnings set at around £30,000 – 20% more than the standard UK employee.

With demand for freelancers growing, the research proves that there is still a number of opportunities for budding entrepreneurs to become freelancers.

Elance-oDesk UK country manager, Hayley Conick, commented on the findings:

“Business confidence is clearly on the up. Over 60% of freelancers who have worked for their clients via Elance-oDesk expect their revenues to increase in the next 12 months. With a third of freelancers experiencing a growth in work volume over the last three months, the general outlook is very positive indeed.”