Self-employment increases as labour market cools

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) appear to underpin the growing trend in the UK towards shorter employment contracts and self-employment.

Even though 98,000 jobs were created in the last quarter, self-employment accounted for over half the increase while three quarters of new jobs for employees were temporary, reflecting some uncertainty among employers over the economy.

ìThese figures underline the trends of recent years when we have seen a radical change in the employment market,î says Phil Lowe, Chief Executive of people4business.com.

ìIn the UK, there are now more than 3.7 million people working as freelance specialists, providing a vital role for companies who supplement their full-time employees with extra skills when they need them. All this makes for a much more flexible workforce than was the case even 10 years ago.î

This increase in independent working has occurred for both men and women and across all industries, but particularly in finance and insurance; construction; education; and in health and public administration in addition to industries traditionally associated with self-employment (such as business consultancy and journalism).

people4business.com is the UKís first online trading environment that focuses exclusively on matching business buyers with contractors and freelancers across all job types and all industries. The platform is free-to-register for the sellers of services and free-to-browse for businesses.

The company is on an exciting growth path and is currently looking for an experienced Recruitment Consultant to work with major employers, explain the value of the platform and generate corporate buyer traffic and transactions.