The Changing Place of Britain s Workforce by November, 2015
There are a number of ways to describe working from a location outside of the traditional office environment from telecommuting to cloud, home, mobile, remote or even virtual working. The Office for National Statistics reported last year that there are now 4.2 million home workers in the UK, which is almost double the number in 1998 when these figures first started to be recorded. This means that almost 14% of the UK workforce now utilises one of these more flexible options. Across Great Britain, the South West of England had the highest rate of home workers Percentage of workers who use their home for work South West South East East of England Wales London East Midlands West Midlands North West Yorkshire and The Humber North East Scotland 17.1% 16.4% 15.2% 14.0% 13.6% 13.0% 12.8% 12.1% 11.5% 11.1% 10.7% Percentage increase since 2008 8.7% 11.5% 4.6% 0.7% 15.4% 10% 6.3% 14.8% 7.8% 10% 13% Whatever you choose to call it, the popularity of more flexible working is clearly a popular trend and the fact that it s now been made into law by the UK Government for any employee with more than 6 months service only goes to highlight this popularity further. However, there are also increasing numbers of people I the UK taking a different route working when and where they want by becoming self-employed. The Creative Economy is essentially the growing amount of work that is based around the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information rather than traditional manufacturing, for example. This burgeoning workforce and economy also been one of the largest beneficiaries of this change, allowing more people to become freelancers and independent contractors. In fact, according to research we conducted in August 2015, this new generation of self-employed workers chose this type of role due to the flexible hours it offers, the freedom to be one s own boss, along with the creative challenge and potential for success/satisfaction being key drivers. Therefore, it is not surprising that over 87% of people we spoke to said that taking all things into account, they would choose to be self-employed. The growth in home workers has also given rise to a dramatic change in where the UK s growing Creative Economy is able to reside. Gone are the days where freelancers flock to London in order to build up a network of contacts to ensure a regular stream of work. Meaning that workers are increasingly able to move from the shadow of the UK capital to live wherever they want. PAGE 1
There are a number of drivers behind this change to a Creative Economy that is based outside of Greater London, including: 1 Technological advancements: The ability for people to work alone remotely has never been a problem, but the advancement in digital technology means that workers can now be part of a wider team and collaborate on projects without ever needing to be in the same room. All a worker needs is the right devices (laptop or tablet and a smartphone), a good internet connection and somewhere to sit and work. This trend will only be fuelled further by the UK government s plans to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017 allowing more people to stay at home, while being as productive as if they were sat at a desk in a London office. 2 Understanding the benefits: Increasingly, both employers and employees are understanding the true benefits of a remote freelance workforce. For the employer it allows access to skilled staff that you know is an expert in their field, but on a project or temporary basis rather than a full-time employee. For the employee, the new Creative Economy allows them to focus on the areas of work they enjoy without as many distractions, as well as saving time and money on things like travel not to mention living in or around the capital. In fact, research by Stanford University has also found that remote workers are 13% more productive even take fewer sick days than normal commuting in-office staff. 3 Culture of trust: The main reason business aren t in favour of home working in particular is that they don t necessarily trust that staff will be as focused as they are in the office. However, employers that are already utilising the expertise of freelancers or contractors have already shown an increased level of trust in the expertise of their employee for the job as well as their ability to deliver on the project they have been given, because their payment is naturally attached to that delivery. Meaning that the Creative Economy was a natural fit for the increase in home working that we have seen in recent years. PAGE 2
The growth in the Creative Economy has sparked a movement of workers from London and the South East to live and work further afield around the UK, while still being able to provide their expertise to the capital s economy as well as extending their support to other areas of the county too. The UK s Anywhere Worker Where the UK s freelancers are based (as defined by the number of Sellers over the last 12 months according to their location all data from the PPH platform) Most popular cities outside the capital: 69.3% of UK freelancers are based outside London Manchester 5.7% Bristol 3.3% Birmingham 3.0% Leeds 2.6% Glasgow 2.3% 6) Liverpool 2.0% 7) Edinburgh 1.9% 8) Brighton 1.8% 9) Newcastle upon Tyne 1.6% 10) Nottingham 1.6% PAGE 3
UK cities with the highest growth in freelancers over the last 3 years (since 201: 433% increase in UK freelancers in last 3 years York 195% Reading 115% Hull 78% Durham 72% Northampton 69% UK cities with the biggest decline in freelancers over the last 3 years (since 201: 48% of jobs in last 12 months POSTED by London-based businesses Godalming -82% Barnstable -82% North Shields -82% Newbury -74% Telford -73% Most productive cities outside the capital (according to jobs completed): 57% of jobs in last 12 months DONE freelancers outside London Manchester 4.9% Birmingham 3.0% Leeds 2.5% Bristol 2.3% Reading 1.7% PAGE 4
UK cities with the highest growth in jobs completed by freelancers over the last 3 years (since 201: 64% increase in UK freelancers in last 3 years York 201% Basildon 128% Bracknell 128% Reading 61% Sheffield 60% Freelance work being done around the UK (as defined by the number of jobs Completed over the last 12 months according to their location all data from the PPH platform) For more information: On The Rise of the Creative Economy you can download and read our report, published in July 2015, or to see the latest research from PeoplePerHour visit: http://research.peopleperhour.com PAGE 5
Aylish Jarvie Aylish is an expert in the rapidly shifting freelance-marketplace, and has become an authority on self-employment trends across the UK. For Press enquiries please contact: Head of PR Aylish Jarvie aylish@peopleperhour.com