More than a quarter of freelance PR consultants opted for a solo
career after being made redundant, according to research out this
week.
The results were compiled by freelance placement shop The Counsel House,
following a survey of 100 freelance consultants.
They reveal that 85 per cent of respondents charge in excess of £300 per day, with 22 per cent earning more than twice that sum.
Freelances working 200 days a year at £300 a day would earn £60,000 per year. This compares favourably with average agency director
salaries of £58,300 and in-house comms head salaries of £51,000 reported in this year's PRWeek salary survey (PRWeek, 30
March).
Emma Brierley, CEO at 'freelance marketplace' Xchangeteam, cautioned
that freelances must fund their own benefits and expenses from their
earnings.
But she agreed there had been an upsurge in the number of freelances:
'The rise in consultants who have been made redundant is only a recent
factor in the last few months. Agencies aren't looking for freelances
due to work overloads as they were last year, but are bringing them in
for specialist skills. They're just using freelances differently,' she
said.
- Leader, p10.
