Contractor numbers on the rise

2 December 2011
Derek Brown
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Did you know that contractors  now make up 1 in 20 of the UK’s workforce?

This startling result is from research undertaken by the PCG and Kingston University, which reflects a staggering 12% increase from 2008 to 2011, to 1.56 million freelance workers. This is against a back-drop of unemployment rising by almost 50%, to 2½m, proving that the UK workforce is becoming increasingly flexible to accommodate dramatically fluctuating demand and skills requirements.

The results reveal the total number of contractors employed in different sectors, with the top 4 being as follows:

  1. Arts, Literary and Media (265,000)
  2. Interim Managers (161,000)
  3. Teaching / Education (110,000)
  4. IT & Telecoms (93,000)

In our eyes, the need for policymakers to create a suitable regulatory framework (rather than one-size fits all European legislation) to support this growing flexible workforce is becoming increasingly necessary.