Data shows public sector has turned to freelancers for digital work

PeoplePerHour.com has a network of over 120,000 freelancers using the site to browse over 70,000 jobs. The site is popular amongst digital companies seeking freelance staff to complete programming jobs and graphic design jobs.

Private sector companies have been utilising the talents and services of freelance staff throughout the recession, but it’s only recently that the public sector has started doing the same.

Invoicing for digital projects on peopleperhour.com in 2011 is seven times higher than it was in 2010, with the overall number of digital job postings on the site increasing by 315 per cent over the last 12 months.

PeoplePerHour’s founder, Xenios Thrasyvoulou, claims that the public sector’s realization of the benefits of freelance staff has had a large hand in effecting that change.

He said: “When the recession hit, the private sector was quick to respond to the new economic reality by shedding permanent staff and engaging freelancers instead. 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.” He added: “It’s clear from our figures that the public sector has learnt a lot from the private sector about the benefits of using freelancers.”