Freelancers in demand as budgets are cut - report

A report named Design Industry Voices, compiled with information from nearly five hundred staff in digital agencies has revealed that the use of freelancers is on the increase.

Two-thirds of the 459 quizzed by staffing firms Fairley & Associates, Gabriele Skelton and On Pointe Marketing suggested that the hiring of digital and design-orientated freelance employees was experiencing a sharp upturn in 2013 - largely due to firms slashing their budgets.

"Design and digital firms are feeling the squeeze from the UK’s double dip into recession during the last year," said Rachel Fairley, the report’s leading author.

"[Their clients] are demanding more work…[but] for less money to make up for their budget cuts."

With client and wage budgets significantly reduced, agencies are optimising contract workers and freelancers in an effort to balance their books yet still produce a quality product and pitch or simply meet the demand of a rising workload.

"Agencies are busy and there is work out there, but it’s definitely a case of ‘more for less’," said report co-author Karen Beasley. 

"The soaring use of freelancers is driving many permanent workers to take contracts, so talent is harder to find," she said. "We hope 2013 will be better as agencies adjust to working with smaller budgets and more smartly."

The full report is available here: http://www.designindustryvoices.com/