In the face of the cooling jobs market driven by economic uncertainty, it’s safe to say there’s a lot of unease right now. The biggest problem is that those who are supposed to be leading the way are showing extreme signs of Victorian or backwards values. Just look at Rishi Sunak’s approach to maths if you want an example. But this is where we’ve got to potentially take the law into our own hands, as it were. With so many people clambering for jobs that pay a pittance for living in this economic sludge pile, it’s hardly a surprise that more people are turning to self-employment. But is self-employment the solution to this jobs crisis? Let’s take a look.
The Diverse Nature of Self-Employed Living
There are so many different areas of self-employed living that can make it an incredibly lucrative and enticing prospect for those from the outside. For any self-employed gas engineer, there’s a multitude of support, from gas engineer software to the very simple fact that you can write off so many of your expenses. It seems that it is certainly a way to have more money for yourself, but there is a bigger price to pay here.
The Short-Term Solutions of Self-Employment
Self-employment is a great tool to ensure you are getting as much money as possible. However, the biggest problem that many self-employed people face is the fact that being self-employed does not necessarily cover you for your future life. Most self-employed people will tell you about the fact that if you don’t work you do not get paid, and so few have actually put aside money for a pension.
According to research conducted by IPSE 15 per cent of freelancers don’t have any private or personal pension and 30 per cent are not paying into a pension fund despite having one. This frame of mind is undoubtedly very worrying. This is why it’s important to recognize that many people have used self-employment as a way to get out of a financial crisis and reap the benefits of being more flexible. The reality, however, is that many freelancers have not thought things through long-term.
What is the Solution?
Many people are looking for ways to claw back in order to keep afloat. That’s why many more are now opting for self-employment to supplement their regular job. Lots of people dive into self-employment as a catch-all solution to their problems, but what we have to remember is that while there’s a current jobs crisis and plenty of freelance roles out there, the solution is not that simple. This bolsters the argument for a universal basic income. Both Iran and Brazil already have this with Wales and parts of the United States introducing pilots to test its efficacy. It’s time to try something new to help people cope with the economic downturn.
