Press Release: London, 17 March 2011 • After swathing cutbacks in the public sector, PeoplePerHour.com reports huge rise in outsourcing to freelancers • particularly those with digital skills.
Despite the private sector creating 77,000 jobs in the final quarter of 2010, the government’s drastic cuts to public services have resulted in unemployment rising to 2.53million • its highest level since 1994.
According to data unveiled for the first time today by PeoplePerHour.com • Europe’s largest online business marketplace • the public sector has responded to the cutbacks by using freelancers in record numbers.
The figures for digital freelancers are particularly striking: invoicing on PeoplePerHour.com for public sector digital projects so far this year is seven times higher than it was in the same period last year.
Overall, across all sectors in the past twelve months PeoplePerHour.com has seen a 315 percent increase in the number of digital job postings including web design, database development and SEO.
According to PeoplePerHour.com’s founder and CEO Xenios Thrasyvoulou, the public sector is finally waking-up to the cost-saving potential of outsourcing to freelancers.
“When the recession hit, the private sector was quick to respond to the new economic reality by shedding permanent staff and engaging freelancers instead,” he says. “Thousands of UK businesses quickly realized this was the best way to stay lean and remain solvent in the face of testing economic conditions.
“The public sector had no such imperative and continued employing and retaining fulltime staff. However, since the government started slashing budgets, the public sector has been forced to find a more cost effective and efficient approach to human resources.
“It’s clear from our figures that the public sector has learnt a lot from the private sector about the benefits of using freelancers.”
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Kevin MaxwellPeoplePerHour.com (http://www.peopleperhour.com) launched in 2007, with the simple idea of connecting small businesses with talented, independent service providers, in an environment that fosters accountability and trust.
The site initially began with one sector • administrative services • and following its success and popularity quickly expanded within three months alone to 10 service categories covering thousands of individual skills.
The website now has in excess of 105,000 service providers, across 150 countries, and servesover 37,000 small businesses clients.
89 percent of the work completed on PeoplePerHour.com gets a five-star rating by the client, validating the fundamental belief on which the business was founded: that talented professionals, when working for themselves, have both a cost advantage but are also more motivated, productive and accountable to the quality of their work, delivering better value to the client all round.
Visit the PPH Economy for in depth live data on the freelance economy.
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