How many contractors / freelancers are there in the UK?

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How many contractors / freelancers are there in the UK?

Published on Sep 18, 2008

"How many contractors are there in the UK?"

When working on Contract Eye and previous contractor news sites over the past decade, we're probably asked this question more than any other.

Now, thanks to research carried out by the Small Business Research Centre at Kingston University, we now have a good idea of how many freelancers there are in the country.

The study, commissioned by the Professional Contractors Group, revealed that there are now an incredible 1.4 million freelancers in the UK - representing a 14% growth over the past 10 years.

University experts used data from the Labour Force Survey and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform's (BERR) statistics to reveal the size and attributes of the UK freelance sector.

Key points from the study

1.4 million freelancers in the UK

62% of freelancers are male, 38% are female

14% growth in freelancer numbers since 1998

58% are working "full time" as freelancers, 42% are "part time"

Over 160,000 freelance in addition to a main job

Management, IT, engineering and broadcasting tend to be male dominated

Translation services, proof-reading and book publishing appear to be female-dominated

John Brazier, MD of the PCG said:

"We are delighted and proud to be able to present the first authoritative study of the UK's freelance population. This study gives us a credible outline of the size and characteristics of our dynamic freelance workforce, which has not existed up until now."

Dr John Kitching, co-author of the report, said:

"Freelancers play an important role in the UK economy both in their numbers, their contribution to business turnover and in the range of activities they perform. But there is no 'typical' freelance worker; they vary in their personal, work and organisational characteristics. We have enjoyed having the opportunity to investigate the make-up of this diverse and significant group of workers."