of freelancers felt that moving to self-employment had at least a somewhat positive impact on their mental health.
The solo self-employed contributed an estimated £278 billion to the UK economy in 2022.
Freelancers' average day rates have now increased to their highest levels since the establishment of the Confidence Index in 2014.
The key reasons people go freelance are for the flexibility (88%) and control over work (88%) it offers.
You can find our latest research into areas such as the impact of IR35 reforms, assessing the concerns of umbrella company workers and our work in understanding support gaps throughout the pandemic.
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We look at the financial wellbeing of the self-employed in areas such as late payment, the impact of the pandemic on freelancers' finances and our review of how frequently freelancers should pay their taxes.
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The only authoritative indicator on freelancers' business performance, our quarterly survey measures business and economic confidence in order to track index levels and identify inflationary pressures.
Visit mini-hub
Our research into the disabled self-employed focuses on the key challenges they face and how we can better support this vital and growing section of the self-employed community.
We explore the importance of exercise and taking time off as a freealancer, the benefits of remote working whilst also assessing the impact of the pandemic on freelancers' mental health and wellbeing.
Our latest research focuses on the experiences of pioneering women within the sector, their concerns and support needs and ultimately underpins our policy work outlining how government can close the Gender Pay Gap.
As part of IPSE’s commitment to learning more about the self-employed sector, we conduct, commission and publish new research on a regular basis. Here you can find our growing library of research into freelancing and self-employment.
Resource LibraryOur research provides us with fresh insights and statics that not only help government and industry understand the self-employed sector, but also power our policy campaigns to improve the business environment and make the UK a better place to be freelance.
Campaigns
By taking part in our surveys, you will provide important insights into the self-employment market that supports our work with government and industry.
We run many surveys throughout the year, so click on the link below to see what we have coming up. If we're inbetween surveys don't worry, we'll advertise these through our membership emails and on our social channels.
We run regular research throughout the year to help understand the issues facing the sector and help back up our policy positionings. It is crucial that we have evidence to back up everything we say to give it validity.
That’s where you come in – join our research community today and help us represent the sector as best as we can.