The UK has become the contracting, freelancing and self-employment capital of Western Europe, suggesting that being located in the UK means having access to Europe’s fastest growing contract market.
This is according to a new analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) that shows the growth in self-employment over the last year has been faster in the UK than anywhere else in Western Europe.
Between the first quarters of 2013 and 2014, self-employment in the UK grew at 8%. That’s a rate exceeded by “only a handful of countries in Southern and Eastern Europe”, with14% of the UK workforce now classed as self-employed. The overall increase in self-employment across the European Union (EU) during the same period rose by only 1%.
“The self-employed come in many shapes and sizes,” highlights IPPR Senior Economic Analyst Spencer Thompson. “Some are entrepreneurs, driven by high-growth ambitions, innovation and disruptive business models, but many are sole-traders simply looking to get by or small businesses happy to stay at their current level.”
ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin believes that its status as ‘contracting central’ in Europe can only benefit the UK: “The availability of a highly skilled and flexible freelance workforce will attract inward investment. This in turn will generate permanent employment, so the success of the contracting sector will benefit the wider economy.”
This is confirmed by the IPPR’s analysis, which says: “Self-employment has proven to be a key driver of overall job creation, with the working-age employment rate reaching historically high levels.”
PCG senior public affairs manager Andy Chamberlain also notes that increasing contractor numbers has broader benefits. He explains: “The fact that Britain is becoming the self-employment capital of Western Europe is hugely positive news. It’s important to remember that striking out alone doesn’t just benefit these individuals – the economy reaps huge rewards as well.
“PCG’s research shows that in 2013 independent professionals contributed £95 billion to the economy in the UK alone and this number is set to rise as more people choose to become their own boss.”
According to the IPPR, the UK has had historically lower levels of self-employment when compared to the rest of Europe, but that this has now changed: “The UK … has caught up with the EU average and, if current growth continues, the UK will look more like Southern and Eastern European countries, which tend to have much larger shares of self-employed workers.”